Almost
by twilighteve-writes
Summary: A series of interconnected one-shot featuring Parental!Royed with a splash of Parental!RizaXEd and bits of Royai during a period in which Roy, Riza and Ed had to pose as family in a mission. As time goes on, they became closer and closer. Almost like a real family.
1. Hum a Song

One: Hum a Song

Roy Mustang strode to his office in annoyance. General Grumman had just handed a mission specifically for him, and while he had no reason to refuse, it pissed him to no end.

He had to go undercover.

With Hawkeye.

 _As married couples._

And while the general's matchmaking attempts wasn't something that Roy was surprised at anymore (seriously, haven't he ever heard of the freaking fraternization laws?!) and was something that Roy actually found enjoyment in, it wasn't the thing that annoyed him. No, it was the fact that he also want to send Fullmetal with them.

 _As their son._

And he wanted Roy, of all people, to be the one to tell the two of them.

Oh, Roy could just imagine the rant the boy would give him…

He came closer to the door to his office, and was surprised to see the entirety of his unit pressing their ears to his door. Even Hawkeye seemed to be listening intently, even though she didn't have her ear pressed to the wood. He frowned and asked, "What's the matter with you all? Isn't Fullmetal already in there?"

He jumped in shock when they all hissed and hushed him, and even Hawkeye threw him an annoyed look.

"He's already in, and we're trying to listen to him," Havoc whispered.

"What, is he in the middle of another short rant?"

"No… I think the chief's singing!"

Roy's eyes widened to the size of saucers. Fullmetal, singing? It couldn't be. Immediately, he took a spot on the door and pressed his own ear to it.

Sure enough, there was a soft yet constant stream of tunes coming his way. And it sounded like Fullmetal, too. Roy was surprised – he never thought Fullmetal was even _able_ to sing. The melody wasn't like any song Roy recognized, but it was clear as a glass. He'd almost believed Fullmetal to be a professional singer.

Then a thought hit him and he withdrew from the door. Wasn't he impeding on the boy's privacy this way? Just hearing a bit of the actual song alone told Roy that singing was incredibly important for Fullmetal. No one could fake that kind of fond tone he was adopting while he sang the song. Considering the boy's personality, Roy didn't think he would find it funny if he knew they were listening in. He stared at his subordinates and asked, "How long have it been?"

"Not long," Havoc answered.

"Alright, that's enough," he said. "Get away from the door, now. I have something to tell Fullmetal. Lieutenant Hawkeye, you're coming with me."

"But Sir, he's still singing!"

Roy opened his mouth to tell them how much he cared about that fact (none at all, the level of how much he cared was so abysmal that even the most ignorant would cry) and that they had a job to do so _get to it_ , never mind how hypocritical that statement was. He never did manage to do that.

The sound of stomping steps emanated from inside the room, dulled only by the leaves of the doors. They swung open quickly, pushing the eavesdropping soldiers away, and revealed the boy in red that was not only red in the clothes, but also in the face.

"What the hell are you doing in here?" he demanded.

"Listening to you, Chief, that was some beautiful voice you have there!" Havoc replied cheekily without missing a beat.

"Why were you – haven't you ever heard about privacy?!"

"Hey, you were the one who sang, it's not our fault that it's loud enough for us to hear," Breda returned, shrugging with a smirk.

Any other time, Fullmetal would have seen the contradiction in that statement, since they were clearly eavesdropping instead of simply hearing the singing without meaning to, but apparently the boy was too frazzled to reply. His face burned so red that Roy thought he'd passed out. Still, that kind of reaction nudged at him and he couldn't resist giving his own jibe.

"Why, Fullmetal? Were you scared you'll shatter all the glass or something?"

Havoc and Breda tried (and failed) to stifle their laughs, while Fuery and Falman coughed into their hands and Hawkeye stared, disagreement in her eyes mixing together with something akin to mirth. It was a joke, and they all understood. There was no way Fullmetal's voice could shatter glass, unless he was screaming shrilly about his height – or lack thereof.

If it was even possible, Fullmetal's face went even redder. He looked down to his feet, shuffling, and for a moment Roy thought he really was going to pass out.

"It was private," Fullmetal's voice was quiet, but it held a silent warning. It struck Roy, then, that the act of singing itself might be something that Fullmetal associated with something painful. He sobered up at once.

"Alright, now, back to your work," Roy told his unit. "This has gone long enough. I'm surprised you didn't stop it, Hawkeye."

Hawkeye pursed her lips, seemingly ashamed of herself. "Apologies, Sir."

"Go back in, Fullmetal, I've got a mission I need to discuss with you." He turned to face Hawkeye. "You too, Lieutenant."

Fullmetal's face slowly went back to its normal shade, much to Roy's relief. He stepped aside as Roy and Hawkeye walked in and closed the door. "What mission?" he asked, following Roy to the couch. "Why do you need to discuss it with Lieutenant Hawkeye too?"

"Well, Fullmetal," Roy began, sitting down on the couch as Fullmetal did the same across of him while Hawkeye stood ever so loyally behind his couch, "this mission is a bit special. General Grumman himself gave it to me."

"Really? Is it really that important that he needed to give it himself?"

"Apparently. And all three of us have to go there and handle this."

He couldn't see Hawkeye, but he got the general feeling that she was frowning. Fullmetal, himself, didn't stop before asking, "Wait, what exactly is this mission about?"

Roy sighed. "This mission requires us to go undercover."

"Right, and…?"

The sigh was heavier this time. "Hawkeye and I need to pose as a couple, apparently."

Fullmetal's mouth formed an 'o' while his hand shot up to point at them. Surprise was clear in his golden irises, then after a moment a hint of mischief mixed into it. He grinned smugly at them, clearly pleased at the general's idea of undercover.

He could hear Hawkeye gasping behind him. He closed his eyes and took a deep breath. Even though she was surprised, he knew Hawkeye would take it well. She was professional, almost scarily so. So it left the harder part to deal with. "That's not all," he continued, and Fullmetal's attention was drawn to him once more, though the grin still rested on his face. "You're coming too."

Fullmetal blinked, the grin fell. "Wait, what am I supposed to do anyway?"

"You're going to pose as our son."

The face Fullmetal made was priceless. His jaw hung open at once without showing any signs of closing on itself anytime soon. He stared speechlessly at Roy for a long while, as if all words he had ever learned had puffed into smoke from the tip of his tongue.

"I'm supposed to go as your son," he said when he finally found his voice. "And you're gonna be my dad. And Hawkeye's my mom." His voice trembled like a feather in the winds, and Roy could tell he was trying hard to keep his calm. He waited for the inevitable rage to come.

It never came.

Fullmetal simply slumped in his seat, eyes wide with surprise and disbelief. He stared at the faraway wall, muttering a small 'huh' without showing any sign that he was going to blow up. His reaction was as explosive as a limp, gasless balloon. Then he turned to look at Roy, eyes unreadable, asking, "What case is it about? And can I bring Al?"

As Roy explained the case and told Fullmetal that Alphonse couldn't come as much as he himself wished that the armor could, he couldn't help but notice how Fullmetal seemed to be calmer than usual, how he listened with attentive silence as he took in all words that came out of Roy's mouth. Strange how he seemed to be content on the opportunity to go on this mission. It was almost as if he was looking forward for it, even though he was clearly dejected that he was unable to be with Alphonse or that his research would be temporarily halted.

Almost.

But Roy didn't dare to hope. Instead, he hoped that this mission would go without a hitch and that everything could go back to normal as soon as possible. He ignored the blooming feeling in his chest, the slight giddiness in his feet and flutter in his stomach, almost as if he, too was looking forward for this mission.

Almost.

Roy decided to chalk it up as anticipation for any kind of challenge the case might present to him.

When he sent Fullmetal away to pack his belongings and get ready to hop on the train to tackle the case, he caught the faintest hum in the air that sounded suspiciously like Fullmetal's voice. Remembering how the boy fluster and panic when he realized the unit had been listening to him singing, Roy couldn't help but wonder what song it was, and if he could get the opportunity to listen to him again.

Perhaps, if ( _when_ , he hoped) Edward was more comfortable around him, he would get an opportunity to hear the boy sing for real.

* * *

A/N: apparently I need a constant dose of parental!Royed stories. Sigh.

Right, so this will be a collection of one-shots featuring parent-child relationship between mainly Roy and Ed, though there will be some parental!RizaXEd and Royai too. Each one-shot will be interconnected with each other. All will feature the three of them during their undercover period. I have no idea what the case might be and why they have to undercover as a family, and frankly I don't really feel like expanding it beyond a series of interconnected stories like this, mainly because I want to focus on my other ongoing fic. Darn, I'm supposed to have updated it...

Anyway, this is it for now. I hope you enjoyed it.

Please leave a review!


	2. Holding Hands

Two: Holding Hands

The bed was unexpectedly comfortable despite its haggard appearance. Though, maybe it simply felt comfortable because his body was stiff after so long a time sitting in a car driving to this place.

He never did like travelling.

"Hey, Mustang," a golden haired boy peeked into the room. "Hawkeye wants me to ask if you want to take a bath before going to sleep. We both want to, and she's using the bathroom right now."

"I'll do it after you're finished, then," Roy answered, yawning tiredly.

Fullmetal frowned. "You're really tired, aren't you."

"That wasn't a question, was it?" Roy stretched as he spoke, voice strained. "Yeah, I don't really like travelling a lot."

"Hmmm," Edward glanced outside. "Tell you what, you take that bath first. I'm not really tired because I'm used to travelling."

"You sure?"

"Yeah. The sooner you can take a shower, the better. You can just barge into the bathroom and shower with Hawkeye for all I know – you're supposed to be husband and wife after all." The insolent teenager chose the right moment to turn and flee, as Roy had just thrown a pillow to his face.

Roy shook his head and huffed, feeling the heat in his flushed face slowly drain away. The audacity – this was supposed to be an undercover mission and he had to be focused on it instead of snogging his subordinate!

 _(But then again, if he_ could _do both in one go…)_

It didn't take long for Hawkeye to finish her bath and came into the room they were sharing, and soon Roy took his turn in the bathroom. He passed the dining table in that small house they used, catching a glance of Fullmetal sitting by it, his alchemy notes strewn across of the polished wood. He thought that it was ridiculous how Fullmetal was still able to concentrate on intricate alchemical theories so late in the night, after that long train ride. But then again he was used on travelling to all corners of Amestris.

As he let hot water washed through him, he couldn't help but think about how weird this situation really was. Him, posing as a father? With Riza as his wife, and Fullmetal, of all people, as his son? He was sure Hughes would laugh at his face when he heard of it. He probably already did.

He sighed, closing his eyes and simply let the water flow on his back. The feeling was quite comfortable, and the temperature was just right. He could just lay on his back right then and there and –

His eyes snapped open and he shook his head slightly. Who would want to sleep while taking a bath? He was definitely far more tired than he thought. He quickly finished up and went out of the bathroom. When he passed the dining area, he stopped and stared into it, and sighed.

"Sir? Is everything okay?" called Hawkeye ( _Riza_ ) from beside him. He jumped in surprise, not having heard her come closer.

"It's fine," he answered. "Just… Fullmetal's fallen asleep."

Riza stared into the room and gave an 'oh'. "He hasn't even taken a bath yet," she muttered unhappily. Then she shook her head. "He must've been tired. Let's move him to his room."

That made Roy blush, remembering that he, himself, was to share rooms with Riza. He shook the thoughts away and walked closer to the sleeping boy, marveling at how small, how young, how innocent he looked when the seemingly permanent scowl in his face was nowhere to be seen.

He forgot, sometimes, how young the alchemist actually was.

He gently lifted Fullmetal ( _Edward, he's supposed to be your son_ ) and grunted softly before putting him down on the sofa placed near the dining table instead. "He's too heavy for me to carry," he mumbled to Riza. "The automails weigh tons."

"Oh well," Riza sighed and bent to take off Edward's shoes. "Can you take his pillow and blanket, then? I think we've got no choice but to let him sleep here for the time being."

Roy nodded. "Right. I'll be right back."

It didn't take long for him to take the requested objects from Edward's designated room and brought it back to the sofa. When he got there, he once again stopped and sighed, this time with a smile gracing his lips.

"Tell me, Darling," he said to Riza, drawing all syllables in 'darling' exaggeratedly, "were you the one who made the first move, or was it our dear son Edward?"

"Oh, Sugarpie," Riza answered, just as exaggerated, rolling her eyes in amusement, "he reached out for me first. I can't help but hold him back."

Roy stared at how Edward was grasping at Riza's hand gingerly in his sleep, and how Riza held him back gently. They looked almost like a real family.

Almost.

Nevertheless, it was a heartwarming sight to see. Gently, he lifted the boy's head to slip the pillow under it and spread the blanket on him. He brushed away the strays of messy bangs on the boy's forehead. "I think it's best if we sleep as well," he said. "We're all tired."

Riza softly pried her hand away from Edward's. "I think I need to tell you that I always sleep with my gun under my pillow, Sir."

Roy winced at the implied message. "Don't worry, I have no plan on doing anything to anyone. Your preparations, however, is truly remarkable." He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "Perhaps I should try doing that instead of putting my gloves in the dresser. Pulling it from under my pillow will be a lot faster than fumbling about with drawers when things get dangerous…"

"Sir," Riza called, "I suggest you continue thinking in the morning. I'm sure you're more tired than I am right now."

Roy opened his mouth to protest, but he closed it and nodded. "Okay."

They walked into their bedroom together, Riza behind him to protect his back at all costs as usual.

Roy smiled. He was glad that some things remained unchanged, even in the strangest situation.

* * *

A/N: a bit shorter this time. Was it okay? I like the idea of Riza being all soft and motherly around Ed.

And HOLY FREAKING SHIT, GUYS. 11 reviews on the first chapter, are you joking me? Excuse me for a moment. *screams happily into a pillow and giggles* I wanna hug and kiss you all! I'm so happy!

Alright, screaming and giggling aside, here's the thing; I want to make this a collection with lots of one shots, twenty at the very least. But I don't think I'll be able to do it on my own. So please, if you have an idea you'd like to share you can put it in the reviews! If it's something that I think can fit in the premise (undercover as a family, yada yada) and I like it (this is a factor too ok, I need to be enthusiastic enough to write it), I'm going to put it in this. So please, share! I'll be more than happy to receive the request.

So, I hope you enjoyed it! Please leave a review on your way out and share your thoughts and/or ideas!


	3. Eating Breakfast

Three: Eating Breakfast

Roy and Riza stared in awed surprise as they watched Edward ate. People say that growing boys eat a lot of food… but they never knew it would be like this.

The boy was no longer _eating_ food. He was _inhaling_ it. Roy wasn't even sure if he chewed before he gulped, since there seemed to be no passing time between taking a bite and the next. He was aware that he probably looked pretty ridiculous, himself, holding a cup of coffee in one hand and a piece of bread in another, staring at Edward in astonishment with open mouth like a statue of a retarded idiot who couldn't choose between eating or drinking. He licked his lips and put down the cup before biting into his bread and chewing slowly.

"Edward, slow down," Riza told the boy when she finally found her voice. "You're going to choke."

Edward took time to gulp and sipped his water. "Can't help it if I'm hungry," he grumbled. "Automail burns out a lot of energy. I need to eat a lot if I want to stay upright."

Riza's brow quirked up. "Well, no one wants you to collapse because of that, of course, but we don't want you choking either."

Edward was about to take another bite when he heard Riza's words. He contemplated it for a bit before nodding and eating in a slower pace. The breakfast went in relative silence for a while, with both Roy and Riza keeping their eyes on the young alchemist still eating as if he had never eaten before.

"Is this really how you always eat?" Roy couldn't help but ask when he saw Edward taking his fourth loaf of bread. Even he and Riza combined couldn't eat that much. Not in the morning anyway, it was possible after a long day of work and possibly skipping lunch.

Edward shrugged. "Can't help it," he said with a full mouth, earning himself disgusted glares from both adults in the room. He looked at them sheepishly and gulped the food. "Sometimes," he mused after no food was present in his mouth, "even Winry thinks that I eat way too much. It's as if I eat for _two_ people instead of one." He shrugged.

Roy sighed. "So this is where most of your research money goes. I've always wondered how you can use so much money and produce only reports detailing on your research instead of actual products."

"Well, what do you expect from two teenagers that take care of themselves?" Edward shrugged again. "Not to mention that automails cost a fortune."

A thought to somehow raise the boy's pay flashed in Roy's mind when he realized that the research money Edward received was probably the only thing that kept the boy alive and well, but he decided to put it away for a while. There was nothing he could do about it while being undercover anyway.

He frowned. Was he growing to care for the boy more? Sure, he had always cared for him, he was his subordinate and a precious stepping stone to his way to become the Fuhrer. This kind of care was different, though.

Almost familial.

He shook his head and shove the thought away. "Well, if you're going to eat at that rate, we're going to run out of money soon."

Edward stared at him in shock, his jaws stopped working instantly. Disbelief flashed in his eyes before it was replaced by panic with a hint of anger. By his side, Riza, too, had snapped her head towards him in surprise and was currently glaring at him in disagreement.

"Good thing General Grumman had agreed to spare us as much money as we need," Roy smirked. It grew wider when he saw Edward's face relaxing in relief and a small, almost unnoticeable smile blooming in Riza's face.

"So… what are we going to do again?" Edward asked, taking another bite of his bread. "You never explained about the cover."

"Right," Roy took his cup and took a deep breath, inhaling the scent of coffee before sipping. "It's simple, really. We'll be posing as a family of thsree. Riza and I will open a bakery, since it'll be a good place to hear gossip from the housewives." He paused to smirk. "We all know how some women can be so chatty at the presence of other women."

Edward looked at Riza innocently. "Even Hawkeye?"

When he saw her finger twitching as if eager to pull the trigger of her gun, Roy coughed. "Right, moving on," he straightened in his seat. "We're going to get constant supply of freshly baked bread from Havoc. But we will also make our own bread so that it doesn't look suspicious. Aside from the bread Havoc will also deliver supplies of flour, butter, and the likes to make our own bread and whatever we might want to make."

Edward nodded. "Okay, so we're going to bake a lot. I have to tell you that I'm no good at cooking or baking, I'm only good at eating. I won't be of much help." He tore his current piece of bread and stuffed it into his mouth.

"I'm getting to that," Roy's face bore a mischievous smirk. "Tell me, Full – sorry – Edward. What month is this?"

"November," Edward answered with a frown. "Almost December. Why do you ask?"

Roy held up a finger. "Now, what do children your age usually do at this time of the year?"

"Huh? I dunno. Go to school?"

Roy nodded, smirk widening. "There's a pretty good school in this town. Some of the previous victims had their children attending that school."

Edward's frown deepened. "Uh-huh. And?" He tore another piece of bread and put it into his mouth and chewed.

"Your registration papers are all done. You'll start your days as a regular schoolboy starting next week. I hope you're good at making friends, Edward Mason."

The shock in Edward's face would've made his day if the boy didn't choke on the bread he was eating afterwards.

* * *

A/N: this one is pretty short, too. I feel like with each chapter the stories are getting shorter... Oh well.

This one is the request of one CressidaRene, who wants to see how this newfound family's breakfast together will go. You got it, Pal, one breakfast scene is done and ready to go! Thanks a lot with the idea!

So far I've gotten ten requests. I might mash some together to make a more condensed story, though. I'm still welcoming requests, so if you want to shoot some to me, you're more than welcome to! I'll welcome them all, however whether or not I will write it depends on how much I find it interesting and whether or not it fits the premise of undercover family. Still, don't be discouraged. Ideas are awesome no matter what.

So, I hope you enjoyed this. Before you go please leave a review! Tell me what you think and share your ideas!


	4. Midnight Intrusion

Four: Midnight Intrusion

Riza didn't know whether to glare or gape at this rude chatterbox that had somehow forced her way into her house.

Mostly she wanted to take out her gun and have a little target practice, but that was clearly out of the option.

By her side, she could clearly see Roy was in a similar mood, if not worse. The one that had to suffer the most, however, was the youngest of the three of them.

"I can't believe that you two could have such a cute son!" Mrs. Rattlebag, the next door neighbor, cooed while cupping Edward's cheek in her grubby hands, ignoring his protests and attempts to get free. How did a common housewife have the strength of a gorilla anyway? "Though I wonder how he doesn't resemble you much?"

"He takes after his grandfather," Riza answered stiffly. A lie, of course, but they couldn't expect people to simply believe they were related if there was no excuses like that slipped in. Because although they may believe Edward got his golden hair from her blonde, there was no other resemblance between the two other than that.

It was even stickier with Roy's situation, since he had no similarity in looks with Edward whatsoever.

"And those golden eyes!" she pulled Edward closer and bent over a little, staring into Edward's eyes with her own wide ones. "Very rare, aren't them? You, child, are the first person I see to ever have those. I take you got them from your grandfather as well?"

"Yes!" Edward cried, struggling to get away. Riza felt a pang of pity for the boy, but she honestly didn't want to come close to the neighbor. "Could you please let go of me now?!"

"Tut tut, that's a bit rude of you," Mrs. Rattlebag frowned in displease. She kept her hands on his cheeks and squeezed a little. "You aren't supposed to talk like that, kid."

"Roy, do something," Edward practically begged the undercover colonel, using the name he had grown to use in the past three days. Mrs. Rattlebag's eyes narrowed at the name choice.

"Ma'am, please, you can clearly see he's uncomfortable," Roy attempted to negotiate.

Mrs. Rattlebag's eyes narrowed even more. She let go of Edward's face at last, and he quickly scurried away to Roy's side, rubbing his cheeks all the while. "Hmmm. I suggest giving him a bit of punishment, Mrs. Mason. A bit of discipline will do your son some good."

Riza stared at her fully. "Thank you for your concern, but I think we are well off."

The intrusive neighbor hummed and glared at Edward's long sleeved shirt and gloves. "And what's with that kind of outfit? Wearing gloves indoors? Are you trying to hide something, boy?"

Edward's right hand shifted, taking refuge behind his back.

"What is it that you're hiding? Tattoos? Scars?"

"It's nothing," Edward answered defensively, a bit too quick.

Mrs. Rattlebag's eyes narrowed in suspicion and she strode forward. "Well then I'm sure you will have no problem if we take off your gloves then!"

Edward took quick steps back and Roy positioned himself between the boy and the neighbor, but Riza was there before Mrs. Rattlebag could touch any of them. She grabbed her hand forcefully and glared into her eyes.

"I do not appreciate it if you force him to remove the gloves, Ma'am," she said strictly. "If we had wanted him to remove them, we would've done so on our own."

"Are you sure your son isn't just hiding things from you?" Mrs. Rattlebag asked, a bit uncomfortable but stubborn still. "Boys his age cannot be trusted. They lie so easily."

"I don't know if that's how you think normal parent-child relationship is, but I don't believe so," Riza replied coldly. "I believe Edward can make his own decisions. If he believes we need to know some things he will tell us on his own. We won't force him to talk if he doesn't want to."

"Do you honestly think that your boy will grow to be a good man that way? Mrs. Mason, you're still a young mother, I think you need more guidance."

Riza's eyes widened and he sent the nastiest glare she could make to Mrs. Rattlebag. Roy made a soft 'uh-oh' and pulled Edward back a little.

"Mrs. Rattlebag," Riza's voice was dangerously low, "I have restrained myself but I can't take it any longer." Her grip tightened. "You came here uninvited, and when we told you we are very sorry but we cannot accept any guests right now, especially at this wholly unreasonable time, you forced your way in. You talk without stopping and throw questions at us yet you don't even wait until you get answers before you make untrue assumptions. You refuse to listen to our words but you expect to be listened to. You intrude in our personal spaces, Edward's especially, and you ignored his clear attempts to regain that personal space. On top of all that you imply that our son has no trust in his own parents _and_ doubt in our parenting skills. Mrs. Rattlebag," she released her grip and walked forward, opening the door. "I don't appreciate your visit. Please leave."

"How dare you – " the older lady was flabbergasted. "I am simply trying to help!"

"Your help is unneeded!" Riza nearly roared. "How does your husband even put up with you? Please, _leave_."

Mrs. Rattlebag looked around and straightened up. "Well," she gulped, clearly sensing the danger in Riza's predatory gaze but still trying to regain a shroud of dignity, "I see now that my good intentions have been seen wrongly. Since you apparently can't see a good willed person when she's standing right ahead of you, I will take my leave." She stepped outside the door and turned to face the supposed family. Her gaze was directed at Edward. "You cannot even call your own father with 'dad'. That's very rude of you."

Edward stiffened and Riza's finger twitched. Roy flexed his hand, clearly yearning for his gloves. "Thank you, Mrs. Rattlebag," Riza said chilly before she slammed the door close.

"How did someone like her even exist?" Edward grumbled, still rubbing his cheeks. "Ew. I think I need to take a bath again." He turned to Riza. "Thanks for getting her away."

Riza nodded in acknowledgement. "But, even though she was practically begging to be shot she did raise a good point." She stared at Edward. "Children normally call their parents Mom and Dad, not their names."

"Ah," Roy exclaimed. Judging by the look of surprised realization in his eyes, apparently he hadn't thought about that either. "Well, that spells problem, isn't it. We'll probably have to practice it a bit." He gave a meaningful glance at Edward.

The boy stared at the two of them in confusion at first before understanding dawned in his eyes. He groaned aloud and shuffled away to the bathroom.

* * *

A/N: This one's a request from Fire From Above (cool name, btw), who asked for an annoying neighbor. Your request have been heard and therefore is granted, my dear. I might have gone a bit too far with this one. I never wanted to make the neighbor _this_ annoying, but oh well.

Really sorry that this update is a bit late, though. To be completely honest it only took me a few hours to write this one, but I've taken a long time making another. The 5th story that I've had in my archive is actually supposed to be the 4th but then I thought annoying neighbors will fit the timeframe more. That one will be uploaded on, I dunno, Sunday or Monday maybe? Around that time.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I still accept requests so if there are any specific scenes you want to see you can just tell me. Leave a review or PM me, whichever works!


	5. Puppy Eyes

Five: Puppy Eyes

"Um… uh… Dad…?"

"Again."

"Dad…"

"Come on, Ed, you can do better than that. Again."

Edward glared at Roy in both irritation and frustration. "It's been two hours," he growled. "Why the heck do I even need to practice calling you _Dad_ and Hawkeye _Mom_?"

"Because we need to make it natural for you so it's convincing, especially in public," Roy lifted his brow, challenging the boy to fight his logic. They didn't need anyone else pointing out that Edward was being rude by calling his supposed parents by their names.

Edward gritted his teeth and made a sound that could have come from a dying animal. Roy stared at him, almost indignant. Was it really that bad to have him as a father? He wasn't really that embarrassing, was he?

"Come on, Ed. You need to be able to do it."

And although Edward seemed to be a bit pained, he didn't have nearly this much problem transitioning from 'Hawkeye' to 'Mom'. Well, maybe the fact that the lady's finger was twitching and her gun was sitting not-so-innocently on the table also factored into it.

"Ddddddd…!" Edward sighed and flopped on the sofa. "Daaah! I can't do it. Nope."

"Is it really that hard?" Roy asked helplessly. "I have no problem switching the usual names to codenames with all of my subordinates."

"You're used to it!" Edward protested. "Besides, it isn't really easy to switch when I've already labeled you as 'Colonel Bastard' in my head."

"Glad to see you think of me so highly, _Fullmetal_ ," Roy's brow twitched in annoyance. He stared at the boy and gave a long sigh. "Alright, fine. Maybe a small walk to town will give you the push you need to see me in a more positive light."

"A walk?" Edward straightened up at once. His eyes sparkled so much, Roy though it would be impossible to say no to him if he had ever asked something looking like that. "We can go? Really?"

"Yeah, I think it's about time you take a look at your school," Roy smirked. "You still have three days before you go, but a small tour won't hurt all that much, right?"

"Yes!" Edward pumped his fists. "I was starting to get bored having to stay indoors for so long. When do we go?"

Roy stood up and took his coat, throwing a smaller one to Edward. It was black instead of red, since the signature color would announce everyone of his true identity right away. "What about right now?"

* * *

The sheer size of the school was amazing.

According to the vice principal, who apparently had a bit of spare time and was willing to give them the tour, the school wasn't really all that big. It was average, really, especially compared to the big private schools in Central. But coming from a rural town, the school felt big for Edward. He couldn't imagine thousands ( _thousands_!) of young children coming here and fill classrooms – about thirty in each class, grouped in said classes according to age and grades – and learn studiously. In Resembool, kids of all ages would be lumped in the same big hall and separated in groups of five to ten according to age, with only one teacher supervising them all. Study time tended to be hectic.

But this school wasn't like that. Its building was big, having many rooms students could use. Regular classrooms, laboratories, health room, cafeteria – he wondered if the food tasted good – and there was a big hall for sports and other school events too.

"The building seems a bit old," he heard Roy comment to the vice principal as he stared at groups of teenagers about his age studying in a classroom with an open door. One of the kids in the room looked up from her book and stretched a bit, locking eyes with him. She blushed a bit and gave a small wave accompanied by a timid smile. He waved back with a grin. The girl's blush deepened and she buried herself in her work once more.

"Ah, yes," the vice principal straightened her blazer proudly. "This building used to be a hospital. As time goes on, though, the demands for doctors and medication for this hospital goes down because better hospitals with more modern facilities are built. The board then decided to make it a school instead, to ensure the path to the future of our children. That was about fifty years ago," she smiled charmingly.

"Quite noble of them," Roy returned the smile. The lady puffed her chest.

The tour went on, with the vice principal showing them the rooms, explaining what they were used for, and even threw a bit of funny stories that happened in them. Edward could see easily that this lady loved her job with burning passion. Her posture was strict and proud, but her eyes softened and shone any time she spoke of the school's history and the fond memories of the students involved. At one point, though, she mentioned that she graduated from the school as well. Edward didn't see how that explained her love, but the way Roy smiled and nodded told him that he understood the sentiment.

They reached an unassuming room and the lady smiled. "This one," she declared, pointing at the placard above the door, "is the library."

Edward's interest was piqued immediately. "What books do you have here?"

"We have all kinds of books," she crossed her arms smugly. "It's our pride. It may not be as good as the libraries in big cities, but it's quite big for a school library."

"Do you have alchemy books?"

The lady's brow shot up immediately. "Are you interested in alchemy, Mr. Mason?" She tapped her fingers against her forearm. "It's a difficult field, I hear. Many of our students are interested though. We don't have many books regarding that field, unfortunately." She watched as Edward visibly deflated, and a grin found its way to her lips. "However, we _do_ have some rare ones that even libraries in East City don't have."

Edward stared at her hopefully. "Can I have a look? Please?"

"Of course you can. We will never deny a child of knowledge."

Edward strode forward immediately, but a hand quickly grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"No." Roy glared at him.

"What? But Ms. Willard says it's okay!" Edward protested.

"You know as well as I do that once you start reading you won't stop until at least a year has passed. No."

"But – "

"You'll have plenty of opportunities to do it once you actually start studying here, Ed," Roy persuaded. "Your mom wouldn't like it if we get back late because you read for too long."

Edward pursed his lips, eyes straying to the library doors with shameless longing. There was a flicker in Roy's eyes, but he kept his jaws clenched tight, and his decision even more so. By his side, the vice principal stared with sympathy in her eyes, but otherwise said nothing.

Edward stared at Roy, pleading with his eyes. Roy's eyes flickered again before they hardened, and he reiterated his point. "Sorry, but you aren't going to the library. We need to get going. Sorry, _Son_."

Edward's eyes widened in surprise before they narrowed in challenge. Oh, is this how Roy was planning to play his game? He knew children were supposed to listen to their parents and considering that he was posing as Roy's son, the way Roy called him earlier had been a quiet warning. _Do as I say, or else_.

Fine. _Fine._ If this was how Roy wanted to play, he could play by his rules. He had his own hidden card up his sleeve. He would play it, and he planned to play it hard.

And play it hard, he did.

"But, Daaad…!"

The face Roy was making alone nearly sent him tumbling on the ground laughing, but he managed to suppress the urge just barely. He kept his eyes level to him, making sure that he conveyed the challenge perfectly while still managing to create the image of a child. He probably sounded like a baby, but to hell with his age. The message he was sending was clear; _We may be undercover but don't you think for one second that this will mean I will listen to all of your orders so easily_.

He knew, himself, that his charade was perfect. Golden eyes looking up sadly with desperation and longing mixing into one, mouth slightly pouted like a little kid begging for something he couldn't live without. And he knew for certain that his puppy eyes were flawless; after all he learned them from the master himself, Alphonse. No mortal could refuse something Alphonse asked with his puppy eyes.

He had a knack for it, too, though not as potent as Alphonse's. Apparently all Elrics were gifted in the art of making others cave into their desires by the simplest way of glance and glare. He could see Roy's resolve visibly crumbling and the vice principal's sympathy multiplying tenfold.

"Come on, now, Mr. Mason. Isn't this just about books?" the vice principal asked. "No harm can befall a curious kid."

"Unfortunately, Edward is a special case." Roy didn't seem to be amused. There was still a hint of stubbornness in his eyes, but it was wavering dangerously. To give him the helpful shove, Edward directed his wide, pleading eyes towards his supposed father, and that was it. He won.

"Fine, alright, you can go," Roy sighed in defeat, averting his gaze from Edward's. "But you'd better not spend too much time here. Your mom wouldn't be pleased if you missed dinner."

Edward wasn't sure if his attack could be effective against Riza's trigger finger, and frankly he wasn't eager to try. "Don't worry, I won't be long. Though maybe it'll be better if you pick me up later."

"Alright," Roy ruffled Edward's hair and caused him to yelp – it must have been his revenge for Edward's own attack – and nudged him towards the library door. "I'll meet you back in… two or three hours, maybe. Don't wander off, and be careful!"

"Okay!"

It didn't occur to Edward until much, much later that their exchange had been completely natural, since he was too excited by the prospect of books. They had wondered before how their neighbors could be fooled into thinking of them as actual family without them having to try so hard, aside from the name use. Apparently they had already acted like one.

And it felt natural, too. Almost as if they were real family. Almost as if their bloody past and sinful mistakes were forgotten, but only almost.

Perhaps, in another life, they could become a real family.

* * *

A/N: BEHOLD! The scene that started this whole fic!

No, seriously. The only reason why I began making this fic is because I wanted to see Ed whining 'but dad' to Roy. That's it. But considering that it's pretty out of character if he does that out of the blue I began making the whole undercover thing so that it will be possible. Cue this fic popping out online.

And just to remind you, I still accept requests. I've received many, but since some are similar enough or spawn really short fics that need to be expanded by merging two or more ideas together, I'm still willing to receive more. Some other may clash with one another... for cases like this I'm going to find a way to fulfill both requests but there are also chances that some requests will not be written. Nevertheless, I'm waiting for more requests and will be happy to fulfill them. Please send me review or PM to share your ideas, whichever is okay. I'll be waiting for it!

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it. I had fun writing this one, even if this isn't a request. Please leave a review before you leave! Hope you have a good day! (Or night, depending where you are.)


	6. Grocery Shopping

Six: Grocery Shopping

Riza realized the decision she would make soon was going to have a big impact in her life, along with Roy's and Edward's. Well, it wasn't exactly a life-changing decision, per se. And it wouldn't impact her whole life, too, but it would impact how their mission would go, in a way.

She was at the dairy shop.

Behind her, Edward was looking around with a look of suppressed disgust in his face. Whether it was because of the strong smell of cheese or because of the fact that all the products here was made out of milk, which he had so vocally declared an enemy of his, she couldn't tell. She still remembered one of his earlier hospital stay when she visited while he was eating his meal. He had glared at the bottle of milk served together with the meal as if it were his mortal enemy. She wondered sometimes why he hated milk so much.

Nevertheless, he needed his calcium intake, and she and Roy would need milk as well, so she had to order for a few bottles to be delivered to their house. Food was definitely a very big part of this mission and unfortunately it wasn't one that the military would cover. Goodbye eating lunch at the military cafeteria, hello cooking on her own.

She had discussed about all three of them having to cook at different times of the day, or having daily or weekly shifts, but while the two males were willing to do it in the end cooking duty fell mostly to Riza's shoulders.

"I know some food, but I learn them mostly from the cook in Madame's bar, and I don't think they're fit for everyday meals," Roy had said.

"I don't know how to cook, but I can learn," was all Edward said. When met with Roy and Riza's incredulous look, he ranted, "What?! I live in the military barracks, they provide breakfast and dinner! Lunch is at military headquarters. During missions I always stay in hotels and inns and they sure as hell provide meals too. When doing research I can always buy meals at nearby restaurants. Just because I live alone with Al doesn't mean I have to know how to cook. I have no time, place, or reason to cook!"

"Surely you did some works in the kitchen before?"

"Granny Pinako is the one to make meals," Edward shrugged. "Winry, sometimes. Never me or Al, since I was still recovering after automail surgery and Al was figuring out how to hold things without breaking them. Hard to do it when you can't feel. Teacher cooks all the time, we were always too tired after training to actually be of some use in the kitchen." His eyes grew distant. "And Mom was always the one to cook."

And so cooking would be Riza's job for five days of the week while Roy taught Edward the basics, and after that they would rearrange the schedule again. Riza prayed to whatever was out there that the house's kitchen would stay intact. She was glad she had confiscated Roy's gloves and Roy had banned Edward from using alchemy unless in extreme emergency while in the mission.

"Is there something wrong, Ma'am?"

Riza snapped out of her thoughts and quickly approached the counter. "I'm sorry, my mind was… elsewhere." She shook her head a little. "Can you help with milk delivery services?"

"Oh, yes! Would you like to have daily delivery, Ma'am?"

As Riza discussed the delivery with the worker, she noted how Edward looked around the store. There was a look in his eyes that Riza couldn't recognize. She decided not to think about it, focusing on the discussion instead.

After they settled the delivery request, Riza ended up buying a chunk of cheese and a bottle of heavy cream. Riza had asked Edward to carry them while they walked to the general store to buy other daily essentials. If Roy were there with them she would've asked him to help too, but he stayed back at their house to man the small bakery they had for their cover.

The boy had been quiet the whole time, with words choice limited to 'yeah', 'no', 'uh-huh', 'sure', and 'hmm'. He held a faraway look in his eyes at all times.

"Edward, which one do you think smells better?" Riza asked, holding a bar of soap in each of her hands and holding them close to Edward's face.

He looked away, not even bothering to sniff. "Whichever is fine." He shuffled on his feet, balancing the paper bags of the groceries they had been buying before in his arms – aside from the cheese and the cream Riza had bought spices such as caraway seeds and cinnamon sticks, sugar, tea and coffee, and a bit of vegetables and fruits.

Riza frowned, taking one of the soaps that she thought smelled better and taking two others for Roy and herself. She had known what kind of soap Roy preferred to use after having lived together when he was still in apprenticeship, but she didn't know Edward's preference. The two soaps she asked Edward to choose were two that she thought he would like.

The trip continued to the butcher's, and Edward maintained the faraway look in his eyes. Riza had offered to buy him sausages, hams, and meat floss, aside from fresh meat, pork, and chicken selections, but instead of looking excited like she hoped he would he seemed to withdraw even more.

"Is everything alright, Ma'am?" the butcher asked her, clearly worried. "Is your son sick?"

"No, he just had a bad day, that's all," Riza lied smoothly. She took the meat the butcher was holding out to her.

"Well, I hope everything goes alright, then," the butcher shrugged.

They walked home soon after they left the butcher's. Riza stared at Edward, worried, and finally asked, "Edward, please be honest. Is there anything wrong?"

"No, it's fine."

"Are you nervous that you'll have to go to school tomorrow?"

Edward sighed. "I'm not nervous about that, I just don't like that I have to actually go back to school."

Well, that seemed to be one of the answers, but Riza was sure there was something else. "Edward," she called. "Please answer me. What's wrong? I can see that there's something troubling you. You're not usually this quiet."

"It's none of your business."

Riza glared. "Ed. Can't you accept the fact that someone's worried about you?"

Edward's steps slowed before he came to a stop. Riza stood in front of him, putting her hand on the boy's shoulder. "Please tell me. Maybe I can help, somehow."

Edward looked away stubbornly.

"Do I need to tell you that I'm your _mom_ and mothers are supposed to worry about their children?"

Edward's golden eyes glanced up. His eyes met Riza's, and she could see how his resolve slowly fell apart. He shuffled uncomfortably and looked away. "It's just… me and Al, we used to do grocery shopping for Mom," he began, whispering lowly to avoid getting overheard. "I guess… this whole thing reminds me of her." He looked at the wall beside him, eyes vacant once more. "Now that I think about it, I wonder how Al's doing. We were never separated for this long before."

Riza quietly stared, wondering how she could ease Edward when what hurt him was his own memories. After thinking for a bit, she asked the boy, "What food do you like?"

Edward looked startled. "Uh, stew." He frowned. "What's that got to do with this?"

Riza ran through her memories to check what they had bought earlier and nodded. "We have all the ingredients to make stew. I'll cook it for dinner tonight." An idea popped into her mind. "I might as well teach you how to make it, since you like it."

"Ah, um, thanks?"

"And I'll ask Roy to let you call Al, if you want."

Edward's eyes widened. "But, didn't he say I should keep my contact with him at the minimum so that no one will get suspicious?"

Riza thought it over. "It's true that it might endanger the mission," she admitted, "but as long as you don't do it regularly and keep it short, or at least as short as you can, I'm sure we can manage. Besides," she made a finger gun and shook it, "if he refuses, he knows how persuasive I can be."

Edward stared at the finger gun for a moment. "I swear I will never piss you off in my life, ever."

She smiled at him and he smiled back. The rest of the walk was quiet, but this time Edward was smiling happily. When they got home, they put the paper bags they carried on the kitchen counter. Edward reached for the soaps and sniffed them, asking, "Which one is mine?"

Riza took her soap and Roy's, leaving Edward's in his hand. "That one."

Edward sniffed again and made a face. "Those two definitely have better smell than this one."

Riza pulled Edward's hand that was holding the soap and took it, replacing it with her own soap. She liked its scent anyway, so she didn't mind swapping. "Next time," she began as she started unloading the paper bags, "you choose your own soap."

* * *

A/N: Is this too fast for Mommy Riza to get this intense? I'm a bit unsure about this chapter.

Anyway, this is for CressidaRene, Forever122 (I'm supposed to include an embarrassed Ed here, but worry not, your embarrassed Ed will soon make appearance in another chapter), and a Guest (also supposed to have bullies taking on Ed and Mommy Riza and Daddy Roy to respond to that, but that too will be shown in another chapter), who requested a grocery shopping sequence. Is this good enough? I hope it is?

(The soap bar thing is my own though. I have this weird fascination with soap scents. I might use more of this in the future...)

Well, I hope you enjoyed this. I still accept requests so if anyone wants to share please do! Leave them in the reviews or PM me, whichever works.


	7. Girlfriend

Seven: 'Girlfriend'

"The name's Edward Mason. My family and I just moved in to this town last week. We opened a bakery. I hope we can be good friends."

That was the speech that Roy and Riza both prepared for Edward. Though he planned to make a more… impressionable introduction, the gaze the two older people told him he would be grounded for the rest of the mission and had his clothes torched every other week until he got out of the military if he actually did that. So he decided to behave, for once.

Apparently it was more than enough to impress. Some of the teenagers in class looked excited to have a new classmate. Some boys scowled at him unhappily, which puzzled Edward. Some girls blushed and swooned, which puzzled him even more. The rest, a very small portion of the class, looked indifferent.

"Where are you from?" a girl asked from somewhere at the back of the class.

"East City," Edward answered, easily recounting the cover story he, together with Roy and Riza, had spun together.

"Why do you move here?" a boy shouted from a corner.

"My parents wanted a change of pace," Edward replied. He, Roy and Riza had agreed to create a cover story about his grandparents from Roy's side having died and made them move in order to try to deal with the pain, but he saved that bit for later.

"What's East City like?"

"Alright, alright, that's enough for now," the homeroom teacher, Mr. Locke, cut the string of questions quickly. "You can all have a chat with Edward during lunch and breaks. Right now, we will start our lesson of the day." He turned to Edward. "Alright, Edward. You can sit in that empty seat right there, next to Vera."

Edward's gaze followed the teacher's pointed finger, landing on a desk located second row from the back, next to the desk of a girl with pigtails. Edward's eyes lit up in recognition at once, remembering that she was the girl who had waved to him from inside a classroom when he was looking around the school a few days before. He made his way to the designated desk, ignoring the stares the other students were giving him.

Soon, the students stopped staring at him as the teacher began the lesson. Edward glanced at the dark haired, pigtailed girl. "Hello. You were the one who waved to me a few days ago, right?"

She blushed a bit and nodded. "I didn't think you were a transfer student, though. We don't get transfer students a lot."

Edward grinned. "Well, I guess I'm a special case then." He offered his hand. "Let's make it official. Edward Mason. Nice to meet you."

She smiled and took his hand, shaking it a bit. "Vera Todd. Nice to meet you too."

"Alright, Class," Mr. Locke's voice drew Edward's attention away. "Let's start with a bit of reading, shall we? Aaron, can you read me a bit of Schakespeer's _Fear No More_ , please?"

Suddenly, it struck Edward that even though he knew he would be able to pass math and chemistry with flying colors, he knew nothing about virtually all other subjects.

* * *

Edward nearly cried out of joy when the bell indicating that all students were allowed to go home sounded. He didn't remember school being so _boring_. And suffocating. He almost wondered if he was in prison.

Like the previous breaks, all the students in his class crowded around him. They began talking to him simultaneously, to the point that he couldn't tell who was saying what. They had all introduced themselves, but he had difficulty remembering all names and faces given the amount they were introduced to him.

"What sports do you like to play?" a boy – Edward thought his name was Matt – asked excitedly.

"Um, I'm not exactly a sports person," Edward answered, suddenly dreading PE class that he saw in his schedule. Just how exactly he could join the class without exposing his automail?

"Oh, you're more of a nerd then?" he remarked, eyes looking a little degrading for some reason. "Like Stanley," he pointed to a think boy wearing a pair of glasses.

Edward frowned at that, but before he could respond to it another boy – was his name Ethan? – threw him a question, "I just remembered, I saw you in the school grounds a few days ago with Ms. Willard! Was that black haired man your dad?"

Man, it was weird having to call Roy _that_. "Yeah."

"You don't look like him much."

"I take after my grandfather. From my mom's side," Edward added, almost an afterthought. He began walking out of the classroom, and the large crowd followed.

"I think I saw your family's bakery when I walked around the town with my mom yesterday," a girl commented. If Edward wasn't mistaken, her name was Sherry. "I saw your mom. She has blond hair done up with a clip, right?"

"That sounds like her, alright."

"Can I ask what your favorite color is?" another girl, Molly, asked Edward excitedly. He remembered her because of the way she quickly sided up to Vera and hugged her, claiming to be her closest friend, when she heard that Edward had recognized the shy girl from his previous visit despite Vera's obvious discomfort.

"I think red's pretty cool," Edward answered easily.

"Do you have pets, Edward?" yet another girl asked.

"No," Edward's mind wandered to Black Hayate, who was left in Fuery's care for the time being. None of the victims of their case had a pet, and Roy had wanted to try to match with the perpetrator's tastes, and for that reason had asked to have Black Hayate left behind.

"Your hair is so long! Don't your parents want you to have it cut? My brother wanted to grow his hair and my parents told him to keep it short."

"They don't really mind, actually," Edward responded.

"What's your favorite food?" another girl threw the question. She batted her eyelashes with a small smile playing on her lips.

Edward squirmed uneasily, finally realizing that somehow, the boys around him had been pushed back by the girls that were now surrounding him. "Um, why do you ask?"

"No reason," the girl smiled, twirling her wavy hair in her finger. "Just curious."

"What about cakes? Do you like cakes?" Molly asked him with a gleam in her eyes. "Just so you know, I'm pretty good at baking myself. Not as good as your mom, I'm sure, but enough to make a cake on my own. I can bake you one, sometime."

"Um, thanks."

"What do you do in your spare time?" another girl – Edward was pretty sure her name was Cara, Vera was very close to her and latched to her almost at all times – asked curiously, though her enthusiasm wasn't as high as the other girls'.

 _Alchemy research_ , Edward's mind supplied. "I read a lot," he decided to make it a bit subtle.

"Really? That's totally like Vera!" Cara pulled Vera closer and pushed her to stand near Edward. The pigtailed girl stared wide eyed at her friend, seemingly panicked. "She reads all the time. Her tastes for books is great too, I've always come to her to ask for recommendations."

"Oh? You like books?" Edward asked the girl. "What kind?"

She blushed. "W-well… I mostly enjoy novels. Science fiction, usually. Fiction that has alchemy in it is really interesting."

Edward's lips quirked into a smile. "Maybe you should recommend some for me, some time. I think we have the same book preferences." Because if Edward had time to read fiction, he would most likely read science fiction. Even if he'd end up not reading them, at least he can give Alphonse a few pointers – he read fiction, sometimes.

"Sure, I'd be glad to – " her words was cut short when Molly suddenly pushed in and leaned to Edward, taking Vera's place and took his hand into hers.

"Aw, so you love books?" she cooed. "That's really cute! I like brainy boys like you!"

"My cousin loves science fiction too, you know," another girl in the crowd – Rosie, Edward believed – remarked. "I can introduce you to him, he can give you a lot of recommendations too!"

Molly glared at the girl before she spoke again, "That's very nice of you, April. By the way, Edward, since you're new to town what do you think about me showing you around?"

"That's nice, but no thanks," Edward pulled his hand away from Molly's.

"Oh, come on," April rolled her eyes. "We all know a few places to hang out. Nothing as fancy as the ones in East City, of course, but they're decent."

Edward couldn't help but wonder at that. Where do kids his age usually hang out anyway? For him a long stay in the library was more than just a little stimulating. Maybe what these kids equated with hanging out, he equated with studying. "Um…"

"Just so you know, there's a nice café around here," Rosie noted. "They allow you to borrow books they have on display! But they don't allow you to bring it out of the café, though."

"Well, uh, that sounds nice?" Edward muttered, and the girls then started suggesting other places they could go. Edward wasn't really paying attention. His eyes roamed the boys at the back, trying to get help because _I have no idea what is happening, seriously, I won't ask if I don't need to_ , but most of the guys seemed to be either trying to ignore him or were glaring at him as if they were ready to make a lamb chop out of him. He did, however, caught Ethan's eyes, who was staring at him in sympathy at his clear discomfort. Ethan quickly walked ahead, through the throng of females surrounding Edward, and stood next to him.

"You seem rather confused," he observed quietly.

"Yeah, I have no idea what's happening here," Edward whispered, almost in panic.

"Dude, they're trying to flirt with you," Ethan looked at him as if he were an alien being. "Can't you tell?"

Edward's wide eyes and open mouth was more than enough of an answer for Ethan. He patted the oblivious boy's back and muttered solemnly, "Good luck, but I can't get you out, these girls are tenacious."

"Oh, by the way, Edward, do you think you can come with us sometime to that café?" Rosie asked excitedly.

"Or maybe to the secondhand books sale, sometimes you can find some rare gems in there, not to mention the price is cheap," another girl offered. Edward couldn't remember her name.

"I'm always up to making some cake if you want!"

"Oooh, we can chat and eat cakes and drink tea, of course!"

"Maybe we can go together if there is some kind of festival or something."

The barrage of requests overwhelmed Edward. He opened and closed his mouth without having the chance of actually saying anything as a response to the girls. Finally, after what seemed to be so long, Edward couldn't take it anymore and blurted out, "I already have a girlfriend!"

All of a sudden it became so quiet, one could hear a pin drop. All of a sudden, Edward realized of what he had said and felt his face burning. He looked around, suddenly feeling guilty that many of the girls wore crushed looks in their face. Rosie, for instance, seemed so disappointed, almost like a kicked puppy. Some were more comical than other though; Molly had her mouth open wide, April was clutching her chest dramatically. Although they weren't asking questions, Vera herself looked shocked, while Cara didn't seem to be affected although her mouth formed an 'o'. She seemed to be more amused than anything, and would probably take some snack and eat them while watching the events unfolding if she could. Next to her, Sherry was grinning wildly, most likely taking the same stance as Cara in the matter. In the background, the boys were also staring, partly in disbelief, and Ethan slapped a hand to his mouth to stop himself from laughing. It was obvious he didn't believe in what Edward had just said.

"…Ed?"

Edward jumped and turned, surprised to see Roy standing behind him. He had reached the school gate before he realized it. "You're here? Why are you here?"

"Riza wants me to buy some herbs, and I thought to pick you up to help me with the shopping," Roy looked around and commented awkwardly, "I see you've made quite a few friends…"

"Are you Edward's father, sir?" Molly suddenly asked before Edward could respond.

"Yes?"

"Is it true?"

Roy's brow lifted up while Edward's face burned redder. "Is what true?"

"That Edward has a girlfriend?"

Roy turned to Edward, who looked away immediately. "So you finally admitted it," Roy smirked. "Took you long enough."

"Shut it."

"Wait, so does he have a girlfriend or not?" April asked, looking genuinely confused.

"He never outright admits it, but, Ladies," Roy grabbed Edward's shoulders, turned him around and steered him away from behind, "if you're looking for a boyfriend, sorry, this one's no longer available." He grinned to Edward. "He's been taken for a long time."

"Wait, you were serious?!" Ethan blurted in surprise.

Edward resisted the urge to bury his face in his hands. From the heat, he suspected he was at least as red a tomato by then.

"If that's all, we'll be taking our leave now," Roy gave a little wave and steered Edward away.

"See you tomorrow!" Cara yelled, elbowing Vera a little. She flushed a bit and waved to Edward.

"Yeah, see you," Edward answered dazedly, waving back before turning to face the road ahead. Soon Roy was no longer steering him and they walked calmly, side by side, silence hanging around them comfortably. It didn't last long.

As soon as they took a turn and was out of sight from school, Roy broke the silence. "So, a girlfriend? Is it that mechanic of yours?"

Edward could feel his face heating up again. "Shut up."

"Winry Rockbell, right? Riza has a good impression on her, you know. They met in Resembool, when I offered you the job."

"Stop. Just stop."

"It would be better if you have a picture, really. You can show it to your friends the next time they ask you. Tell them that you have a thing for strong blondes… and that it runs in the family."

"Ro – Dad! _Stop_!"

Roy's grin was stretched from ear to ear, looking almost like a banana. "Oh man. I can't wait to tell Riza this."

"You're not going to let me live this down, are you?"

"Absolutely not."

Edward's exaggerated groan sent Roy laughing.

* * *

A/N: decided to be generous and posted this early. And it's long! I planned to have this uploaded tomorrow actually, but hey, everyone likes an early update! (Right?)

First and foremost, my deepest apologies to William Shakespeare for mutilating your name in such way. Since this universe is different from ours I thought I should make your name a bit different.

This one is Alheli's request, who wants to see Ed trying to shake off flirting girls by lying that he has a girlfriend and Roy or Riza overhearing it. I changed it a little but it's pretty much the same. Mind you, this is the first time I try writing people flirting, so I'll have to apologize if it feels weird. And because Google was my only guide and I don't know if this is really how people flirt. Bless Google, though, it's like everyone's bro who's always ready to help.

*whisper* I never flirt. I can't even tell when someone is flirting. I feel as if no one has ever flirted with me, but I'm not sure because like I said, I can't tell if someone is flirting. Ed, I feel you so much.

Anyway, I hope you like it. Next chapter seems to be even longer than this, though I can't say for sure because I'm still editing. Please leave a review and share your ideas! See you next time!


	8. Lucky Bastard

A bit of warning: cussing ahead, as the chapter title might have suggested.

* * *

Eight: Lucky Bastard

When he came into his classroom, Edward was quickly surrounded by his classmates, just like the day before. The difference was that he was surrounded by the girls before and now he got the boys around him.

"Um, morning, guys," he greeted awkwardly. Maybe this would be easier than the day before, though. At least they were all boys and he could understand their thought pattern a bit better. With girls… well, the only girl his age who was close to him was Winry, and he seriously doubt that she was like other girls. She wasn't even like other _people_. Her passion about automail was borderline abnormal… Or was it just because she was the only automail engineer around his age that he actually knew?

"Hey, is it true that you have a girlfriend?"

 _I take that back._

Edward squirmed uncomfortably. "Why do you ask?"

A boy stepped forward immediately. "How exactly do you get one?"

Another nodded vigorously. "How do you get closer to the girl you like without making a fool of yourself?"

"Girls are hard to understand! Can you understand yours?"

Edward gaped as his classmates bombarded him with questions. At the background, he could see the girls looking dejected, though Cara and Sherry seemed to be content just watching him squirm and Vera was more interested in the book she was currently reading. Ethan was sitting in his seat, giving him a thumbs up and mouthing 'good luck', while Matt was scowling at him.

"Seriously, though, what does she look like?"

The question drew silence from the boys and attention from the girls – even Vera peeked at him from her book – before the boys began asking him questions again.

"Hair color! What's her hair color?"

"Um, blonde," Edward answered automatically.

"What about the eyes?"

"Blue." Edward blinked and blushed. He was describing Winry. Why was he describing Winry? The answers came so easily that it almost made him gawk. Then again, there was no other girl that got so close to him.

"How did you get close to her? Did you have to work hard for it?"

A second to think it over, and the answer popped. "No, not really."

"So… she's the one who worked hard for it or what?"

Another beat and he answered, "Well… I guess you can put it that way." Because Winry was the one that had to take care of him for so long during his automail recovery. Of course she worked harder than him. Not only did she have to become his caretaker, she also designed and made his artificial limbs, and practically became his doctor and nurse and helped during his surgery. There was also the times she had to make sure he ate well, helped him gain control over his new limbs and helped him practice writing with both his hands. Now that he actually thought about it, he probably still owed the Rockbells money for his automail. No wonder they always charge him so much whenever he needed help with his limbs.

"You didn't really try to maintain good relationship with her?"

"Of course I do," Edward was somewhat indignant. "Though… maybe not as hard as her."

"Is she pretty?"

He changed red, so red, right then. Apparently that was enough answer for his classmates because they began ooh-ing and aah-ing, teasing him happily, while the girls in the background seemed to fall deeper into their holes of self pity.

"Seriously though, how did you get close to her?"

"I – I don't know," Edward stuttered a bit. This conversation was _way_ past his comfort zone and his _I know what I'm doing_ zone.

"What do you mean, you don't know?"

"I just feel like we've been pretty close since forever… you know?"

"Are you saying that your girlfriend is someone you've known for a really long time? Like a childhood friend or something?"

"Um, yes?"

The crowd dispersed right away, many wearing scowls in their face, muttering and mumbling.

"He's got a childhood friend for a girlfriend… dang."

"He has no advice on getting close to a hot stranger, it seems."

"With his looks, he probably can do it even if he tumbles around."

"Lucky bastard."

"What'd I do?" Edward muttered helplessly as he made his way to his seat, past the snickering Ethan. He glared at him in annoyance, asking, "What? You're not going to ask me things either, are you?"

"Nope," Ethan answered jovially, popping the 'p' loudly. "It's pretty clear that you have no idea what you're doing. How the heck did you even get that girl of yours?"

Edward went red again.

"Man, you're really clueless about things like this and yet you already have a sweetheart," Ethan sighed. "You really are a lucky bastard."

Edward stared at him. "Seriously, what did I even do to get that nickname?" he shook his head helplessly. He dropped into his seat with a sigh, wondering just what he was getting himself into.

The rest of the morning was spent with him trying to ignore the boy's envying glares and the girls' dejected stares, along with Ethan's amused grin, Cara and Sherry's curious gaze, and Vera's sympathetic smile.

* * *

A/N: really short one this time. Sorry!

I have planned to upload the 9th story, but when I read Brenne's review wondering if the boys will ask Ed advice on how to get a girlfriend... Well, I just can't let it pass by. I can promise you that the next will be much longer though!

Since the next story is pretty much ready to be uploaded, I'm going to have it online around... maybe Sunday or Monday.

Okay so. I hope you enjoyed it! Please share your thoughts and ideas. Hope you have a good day!


	9. Phantom Pains

Nine: Phantom Pains

 _"_ _What do I say if I have PE? I can't expose my automails."_

 _"_ _Hmmm. Maybe you can show them your leg though. The military knows about your predicament but most people think the Fullmetal Alchemist only has automail arm and not leg, since you always use the metal in your arm for weapon."_

 _"_ _But I have to change they'll see the arm."_

 _"_ _Then let's make a scenario where you don't have to change."_

"So you can't join PE class because you've only recovered from automail surgery?"

Edward nodded at Mr. Locke's question. "I've undergone the therapy but my mechanic thinks I should take it easy for a while. She said exertion can make it really painful for me." Inwardly, he rolled his eyes. He knew just how painful it was. Like Granny Pinako told him, he had been coughing up blood during the time he forced himself to speed up the therapy. It wasn't something he was happy to undergo.

Mr. Locke hummed and stared at his exposed automail leg, pity clear in his eyes. Edward had to stop himself from telling the teacher to stop looking at him like that. He didn't need his pity.

After a moment, Mr. Locke nodded. "Well… I agree with your mechanic. I don't know much about automail surgery but most surgeries always end up making the patients need a lot of time resting." He smiled. "I'll tell the PE teacher about your condition. In PE classes, you can go to the library to self study. You'll be together with Stanley."

Edward remembered the thin, bespectacled kid immediately. He remembered Matt calling him a nerd. "He doesn't join PE class?"

"He has a bad physical condition," Mr. Locke explained. "If he forces himself he might even pass out. But don't worry, he's not that frail! And I'm sure you two will get along swimmingly."

Edward nodded.

"Well, if that's all, Edward, you can go back to your classroom soon," Mr. Locke smiled. "The break will be over soon, and I'm sure you'd rather not return to class late."

 _I'd rather skip altogether_ , Edward thought as he pushed the fabric of his trousers back down to cover the automail. But considering that Riza was seriously dangerous when ticked off, maybe it wasn't worth risking it. "Alright. Thank you, Mr. Locke." He turned and left the teacher's lounge, walking back to his classroom. His eyes glanced up to the sky, and to his disdain he found that clouds were beginning to gather together.

His flesh hand gripped his automail shoulder. He hoped it wouldn't rain anytime soon.

When he got back to his class, April suddenly shot up to him and asked, "Is it true? You can't join PE because you've just recovered from automail surgery?"

The class was suddenly silent.

Edward froze instantly. "How do you know that?"

"I overheard you at the teacher's lounge," April answered, and she covered her mouth with her hands with a gasp. "I'm sorry… was that supposed to be a secret? I didn't know – "

"No, it's fine," Edward said with a sigh. "You're going to find out sooner or later anyway."

Ethan stared and asked awkwardly, "Can we… you know. See it?"

Edward looked around, finally realizing that everyone in class was staring. "I'm not some animal in the zoo," he answered cautiously.

"Oh, come on," Matt rolled his eyes. "Just a peek wouldn't hurt anyone."

His classmates shifted closer in curiosity. Realizing that he wouldn't be able to get away with it, Edward sighed walked to his seat before sitting and slowly rolling up his left trouser. He allowed a glint of metal to be seen before he rolled it back down. When they saw the silvery gleam, the people in the class gave gasps, mutters, and mumbles, pointing and gesturing at him. Edward looked away uncomfortably.

"Did it hurt?" Vera asked quietly.

Edward turned to her, staring for a moment before answering, "Yeah. They say that automail surgery is one of the greatest pain known to man."

"Aw, you poor thing," Molly sighed. "It must have been really hard for you. Can you tell us how you lose it?"

Edward forced a smile. "It was an accident. I don't like to talk about it."

"Really? That's it? An accident?" Matt prodded. "Come on. You can do better than that. Tell us the juicy details."

"There isn't anything to be told," Edward resisted the urge to throw a punch at Matt's face. "It was an accident. I lost my leg in it. That's about it."

"There has to be another – "

"Matt, stop," Vera spoke up, and next to her Cara stared with wide, surprised eyes. "You'd dislike it too if people ask you personal questions. Just… lay off… maybe…" Her voice grew weaker as Matt glared at her hotly.

Matt scowled. "Fine, fine, no more questions," he turned and sat on his chair. "It's probably a lame story anyway."

Edward looked away. Sure, it was a lame story. Just a story about two little kids who were too stupid to let go of the dead and tried to bring their mother back and ended up paying a price and still was not able to find the warmth of a mother's embrace they yearned for.

Just a story about stupidly oblivious kids. Yeah, it was lame alright.

The day went on quietly, but there was a buzz in the air that wouldn't go away. People throw glances at Edward, occasionally there would be fingers that were pointed at him. _Poor thing, to lose his leg like that. I wonder how it feels, to live without a leg. No wonder he can't join PE. Maybe we should let him take it easy, we wouldn't want to aggravate his limbs._

Edward hated it.

He was mostly silent for the reminder of the day, only talking when spoken to. The pitying glances made him feel worse, and he could barely keep himself from scowling in every second he had to spend in the school. It didn't help that his automail joints started to stiffen, most likely because of the oncoming rain.

When the school finally ended, he quickly went out as fast as he could, ignoring the familiar pain that started to creep into his missing limbs and the soft, worried calls of some of his classmates. He controlled his breathing in an attempt to keep the pain at bay, but it didn't help much. He needed to get home as fast as he could.

His eyes darted up to the sky, which was swirling an ominous gray. The rain would be heavy, and it looked like it was going to pour down soon. He walked as fast as he could, limping a little, wincing every now and then whenever the pain intensified somehow. It felt as if his limbs were being ripped apart, just like how it was when the Gate claimed them.

By the time he reached his neighborhood, the pain had gotten almost unbearable. His face was pulled into a grimace, and he was practically dragging his left leg while his right arm dangled uselessly. He took a deep breath to keep the pain at bay and tried to walk as normal as he could to avoid prying eyes.

"Boy, what's wrong?"

Screw avoiding prying eyes.

Edward forced a smile into his face. "Good afternoon, Mrs. Rattlebag," he greeted stiffly.

The woman stared at him, worry clear in her eyes. "Afternoon," she greeted back. "You seem to be in pain."

Edward forced a laugh. "No, no, don't worry about it. Just a tiring day at school, that's all."

"Are you sure? I can tell when someone's in pain, Boy. I have three children, one of them is a girl, she gets violent cramps at least once a month."

"Really, you don't need to worry about it!" Edward said forcefully. "A bit of rest will be enough for me, so I'll just go home now." Before the lady could say anything else, he bolted away.

"Wait – " Mrs. Rattlebag called, but a sudden "MOOOM!" from inside her house stopped her from following Edward. Edward walked as fast as his limbs allowed him to, not wanting to deal with the neighbor.

A drop of rain hit his crown and he cursed inwardly. It wasn't outright raining yet, but the cold drizzle was enough to make Edward feel like the universe was testing him. The feeling of being torn apart intensified, and he bit his lip to stop himself from crying out.

After what seemed to be forever, he finally reached his house. He could smell bread from outside, and he dragged himself into the bakery. The thought of having to climb the stairs to reach into the actual housing area made him groan aloud.

"Ed? Are you alright?"

He turned to the voice, seeing Roy looking at him worry. Riza, behind him, was wearing the same look, but said nothing.

"I'm fine," he forced himself to answer. He began walking again, but his automail leg refused to bend, and fell face first to the wooden floor. He cried out, the pain in his automails flaring up so bad that tears began to gather in his eyes. It didn't hurt this much, usually. He wasn't sure why it hurt more than usual.

"You're clearly not fine," Roy kneeled next to him and helped him sit. "What's wrong? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"I'm not hurt – " Edward gasped aloud, words swallowed away by the sudden breath.

"Yeah, sure," Roy pulled him to his feet and supported him. "Let's go up to your room." He turned at Riza, who nodded at him and sat at the cashier's chair, which was previously taken by Roy.

"Okay," Edward whispered softly, not having the energy to argue. Roy frowned at this. He didn't comment when Edward let out moans of pain, nor when he suddenly bit back screams when he made movements with his automail limbs.

"It's the automail, isn't it?" Roy asked when they finally reached Edward's room. Outside, the rain finally poured down. "Alphonse warned me of this before we came here."

"Traitor," Edward childishly muttered.

"He was just worried about you," Roy lifted a brow. "How can I help?"

Edward winced when he felt a sudden spike of pain in his shoulder. His automail fingers twitched uncontrollably. Knowing he couldn't deal with the pain on his own, Edward mumbled, "Heat usually helps." He took a deep breath and slowly let it out. Massaging the stumps helped too, but he didn't want Roy anywhere near his stumps. Yet.

Roy nodded. "Wait a bit, then," he turned and walked away from the room. As soon as he was away from his sight, Edward slumped into his bed, throwing his schoolbag away and massaged his stumps. Normally Alphonse would help, but he wasn't there.

God, Edward missed him.

He tried to strip and changed his clothes, but the pain was preventing him to do it. He was stripping in the speed of a speeding snail.

When Roy finally came back to his room, he had only succeeded to strip his trousers and shirt away, and was sitting in his tank top and boxers. He glanced at Roy tiredly, curious at the steaming bowl Roy was carrying in his hands.

Roy didn't say anything. He put the bowl on the bedside table and leaned Edward's pillow on the wall and pushed him to lean on it. Before Edward could say anything, he reached into the bowl and took a dripping wet small towel which was steaming. He squeezed the towel to rid it of the excessive water and laid it on Edward's shoulder, where the skin met the automail.

Edward gasped at the heat at first. The towel was damp and hot. But he soon felt the heat slowly lessening his pain, and he sighed in relief. He did the same when Roy laid another hot towel at his leg automail. He slumped into the pillow, feeling the pain slowly draining away to a more bearable level. It was still there, but at least it was easier to deal with. He let his eyelids droop, enjoying the warmth of the pieces of cloth at his stumps.

"I'd rather use a hot water bottle, but it seems that we don't have any here," he heard Roy speak. "So you'll have to deal with towels for now." As a response, he grunted.

Not long after, he felt someone nudging him, and he peeked his eye open to see Roy holding a steaming cup in front of him. The scent invaded his nose, and he instinctively tried to gain a distance from it. The smell was horrible.

"Valerian root tea," he told Edward. "Ignore the smell, it helps reduce pain."

Edward took the cup with his left hand. "You don't need to do this, you know." He took a sip, making a face at the slight bitterness the golden amber liquid held. He could taste the sweetness of honey layering the bitterness, but it was still prominent.

"Yeah, it's pretty bitter," Roy shrugged and took a chair, sitting close to Edward's bed. He took another cup from the bedside table that Edward managed to miss. "But it helps."

"You've taken it to deal with pain before?"

"No. It's just an advice from Falman. He's like a walking encyclopedia, so I'll trust him on this." He then added, "It was Riza who bought this. Apparently aside from pain it also helps with insomnia, stress, and anxiety."

"Why would she want to buy this kind of tea, though?" Edward frowned. He couldn't see how Riza would need to consume the tea. Not to mention the taste wasn't really that enjoyable.

Roy shook his head. "I'm sure she has her reasons. Finish your tea."

Edward did, though he made a face when the cup was finally emptied. "Add more sweetener next time," he told Roy. He could feel the effect immediately though, calm spreading in his chest and pain lessening even more.

"I'll make sure to do that," Roy answered in mild amusement, downing the content of his own cup in one go. Edward narrowed his eyes at the cup in Roy's hand, sure that it wasn't the same stuff he had to drink.

Roy changed the towels at Edward's stumps quietly and put the empty cups on the table. They stayed in silence, listening to the sound of rain.

"Can I call Al?" Edward asked after a while.

Roy stared at him for a while before answering, "Ed, you know we can't have too much contact with him. It might jeopardize the mission. You've called him a few days ago."

"Is that a no, then?" Edward muttered softly.

"Sorry."

Edward looked up at Roy, pleading with his eyes. The older man frowned immediately, mumbling uncomfortably, "Don't give me that look," but Edward didn't back down. It wasn't hard to make himself look miserable, since he _was_ miserably in pain and felt that he needed to talk to Alphonse soon.

"Seriously, Ed, stop. I'm not going to change my mind."

Edward kept staring.

Roy seemed to be waging a war with himself, but at last he relented. "Ugh, fine! A phone call at the weekend, does that sound good to you?"

Edward's face lit up immediately. "It sounds great. Thanks a lot, Roy."

"That's _Dad_ for you, you puppy eyed brat."

"I'm not 'puppy eyed'! Is that even a word?"

"You try looking at the mirror while making _that_ look!"

"It's not my fault you can't help but sympathize with me!"

"Watch it. I'm seriously contemplating making it illegal for you to give me that look. I'm going to court martial you."

"You wouldn't!"

"Try me!"

The argument lasted until sleep finally claimed the young alchemist. When he woke, Roy had left, the pain was gone, and so were the cups, although bowl of hot water stayed on the bedside table and the towels still rested on his stumps, still warm.

* * *

A/N: See? Longer chapter. Way longer compared to the last one.

Okay the part where Ed shows his automail was maybe a bit iffy because I feel that Ed won't show his automail so easily, but at the same time he also have no choice but to show because his classmates would know sooner or later anyway because the teacher would've told anyway and I think Ed would rather have the thing spat out of his mouth himself than having someone else telling it to people. Also I want to give a bit of development to Vera. I love Vera. Don't hate on my baby.

On a side note, puppy-eyed Ed makes a comeback! I just love writing how Roy is completely defenseless against it. Maybe I'll write about Riza's reaction to Ed's ultimate eye technique in later chapters.

So CressidaRene wanted to have the topic of automail touched upon. The request was that Ed was doing his regular maintenance and Roy and/or Riza saw him and the scars and everything, but somehow I ended up writing Ed writhing in pain instead. Sorry! I'll write another chappie about automail soon to make up to it. Also x. Akihito .x wanted to know how Ed would hide the automail if he has PE and if he doesn't how the classmates will react. I kind of changed it a bit, I hope you don't mind.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed the chapter! I still accept request, if you're wondering. Please leave a review, share your ideas. See you next time!


	10. Bakery Interactions

Ten: Bakery Interactions

There was one thing that Edward learned in the mission about himself that he never really knew before.

He loved weekends.

Usually he didn't really feel the days change as no matter the day, he and Alphonse would be cooped up in library doing research or sent away in a mission anyway. But now that he had to actually attend school, he appreciated the two off days so much more. It was a break he needed from sitting for hours doing useless tasks. It was a break from having to maintain good friendship with his supposed classmates, who he couldn't care less of except for select few. It was a break from the whole charade he was stuck in, for he could bury himself in his blankets and not go outside, or even if he went out of his room he didn't need to go out of the house and worry about people somehow suspecting or even finding out about the true nature of his relationship with Roy and Riza.

He glanced at the clock. It was nine in the morning. He contemplated sleeping again for a few hours, but if Riza was like Trisha she'd probably wake him up in a bit. Hoping that Riza would at least let him sleep more, he rolled over and wrapped himself in his blanket, content with the warmth. Soft tendrils of sleep had started to coil themselves to him when his door was knocked, softly but forcefully.

"Ed?" Riza's voice seeped through the door. "Are you awake yet?"

"Not yet," Edward groaned.

"Sorry, Ed, but you need to wake up." Sure enough, there was slight regret in Riza's voice. "The bakery seems to be packed today and we need to have the house cleaned. Roy and I need to man the store, so please do the chores."

"Can I say no?"

There was a beat, and Riza sighed. "I'm afraid you can't, Ed. We'll have to eat with dirty dishes if you don't get them cleaned."

Edward groaned loudly and dragged himself out of bed, opening the door and meeting Riza's apologetic eyes. "But I don't want to get out of the house, okay? There's enough pretending as it is, I want to rest before I have to go into the routine again."

Riza nodded in understanding. "Okay. Roy and I will be downstairs. There are some bread and jam on the kitchen counter if you want to eat breakfast." After a moment, she added, "I can't guarantee that you can stay up here all times, though. We might end up needing your help down there."

"Let me pray that it doesn't happen, then."

Riza left soon after, as Edward munched on a piece of bread layered with a generous amount of blueberry jam. After eating two more pieces of bread (each with decidedly less amount of blueberry jam, out of consideration that Roy and Riza might want to eat it again for the next morning) he decided to do the requested job and have everything done with as soon as possible. The dishes were washed, the furniture dusted and the floor swept. His mind wandered to his childhood when he and Alphonse helped their mother with the chores such as these.

He sighed. Only yesterday, he had a long chat with Alphonse about his classmates and his faux life, and already he felt a yearning to speak with him again. He hoped to see him directly, but it would jeopardize the mission entirely. As much as he wanted to see him it wouldn't be wise to risk it. He gritted his teeth, fighting the urge to yell because he didn't want to draw attention from Roy or Riza… or worse, both. Instead, he summoned the frustration and used it to fuel his suddenly rigorous attempt to scrub the sink sparkling clean.

After a while, he decided that the cleaning was enough, as he was tired from it and the place had looked clean enough. He sighed and threw himself to the sofa, content to lay down and rest for a while.

He was wondering how the bakery was faring, to be completely honest with himself.

He stood up from his place on the sofa and opened the door leading downstairs. Not wanting to actually go down, he opted to lie down on his stomach and watched the situation from above instead. He didn't mind the limited area of vision. It wasn't like some kind of criminal would suddenly barge in and hold everyone in the room hostage! And even if that happened, he knew there were some military personnel placed around the house for security anyway.

He supported his chin with his hand and stared down, watching people walking back and forth and listening to the general hubbub of the store. Prices were being shouted, as were names of bread he never even knew existed. Occasionally, someone would ask the ingredients of certain bread, if there was certain things thrown in into the mix, if there was any chance that the price would be lowered. Both Roy and Riza answered the last question with a resounding, firm no. "The prices are fixed," they told them apologetically yet also firmly at the same time.

He was really wondering how they could keep up the charade so easily, to be completely honest. When they were just with him, they acted just like usual, if maybe there was lingering touches and gazes every once in a while. But now that he was seeing them actually interacting with other people, he saw just how they could fool everyone into thinking they had been married for some time. The way they behaved around each other was so easy, the air around them was comfortable and perhaps even loving. They weren't the type that would happily show off their intimacy to people's faces like his own teacher and her husband, but more the type that knew their partner so well, they could casually hold a conversation without actually speaking any word. To be completely honest Edward was beginning to wonder why he never mistook them to be couples in the military.

"Do you have any rye-wheat bread, Mrs. Mason?"

"I'm sure we do, Mrs. Harris. Roy, dear?"

"We have a lot of rye-wheat in stock! How many do you need?"

"I'll take two of them, please!"

Edward watched the store quietly, chin still resting snugly on his hand. If he had to maybe go down to help, he might as well watch them work to figure out what he would need to do.

He couldn't help but be distracted by how his commanding officer and his assistant behaved, though. He couldn't tell if they were doing it because they were trying to maintain the cover or because they were genuinely enjoying it.

Judging from how they seemed to always make time for physical contact such as brushing fingers every five minutes or so, Edward suspected it was the latter. He wasn't sure if it was smart of General Grumman to send the two of them as couples, seeing that he couldn't even tell if their concentration was on the mission or spending as much time together as possible, but it was perhaps because the general knew they behaved this way that he sent them, in order to look more convincing. The fact that he was sent together with them puzzled them even more now, though. He was clearly the weakest link of the chain.

"Riza, darling, we have an order for a cake for next month! Can you note it down?"

"Sure, Honey. What kind of cake do you need, Mr. Schaefer?"

Honestly, if it wasn't for the fraternization rule Edward was sure they would have gotten married years ago.

"Mason? Hey, I think my daughter is in the same class as your son!"

Edward blinked and listened carefully. He still had his head cradled in his hand, but he was curious of this new development.

"Really? What's your daughter's name, Sir?"

"Vera, Vera Todd. She's shy, but she finds the new kid to be rather friendly. His name is Edward, right? Where is he now?"

Edward peered down, catching the sight of dark haired man standing near Roy and Riza. The bakery wasn't as packed as before, providing them enough time to socialize with people.

"He's upstairs," Riza was the one that answered. "We asked him to do the chores today. If he isn't still working he's probably resting."

"Hardworking, eh?"

"Oh, very." It was Roy's voice. He sounded a little wry, for some reason.

"Does he help out in the bakery after school?"

"Well… the place isn't usually so crowded that we need help, and he's still learning the basics of baking himself, so he doesn't help out much. We always tell him to prioritize school, too."

 _Lies, lies,_ Edward thought in amusement. It was somewhat of an unspoken agreement that he didn't need to show up at the bakery unless in case of emergency. Having to go to school was trouble enough. He was sure that after the confrontation he would be asked to help out at least once, though.

"I see… that's very considerate of you."

"Well, a child's education _is_ very important, after all."

"I can't agree more. But can he work?"

"If the store's very crowded, I'm sure he'll lend us a hand!"

"Does Edward have any sibling, by the way?"

"No, no, he's our only child!" Edward couldn't help but feel a bit awkward being referred to as Roy and Riza's son. Even after spending so much time with that, it still felt weird to put himself in a position where he had to say that they were his parents.

"Oh? Isn't he lonely? Any plan on giving him any sibling soon?"

"Well, if he's willing to help take care of a baby, then definitely!"

The answer came so readily that Edward's chin slipped from his hand and nearly hit the floor. The cheerful tone in Roy's voice was one that he had grown to be familiar of, having heard it every time he was in a good mood. The problem was that he wasn't sure if Roy was being serious or not.

It didn't help that Riza's somewhat embarrassed – _embarrassed_ – laughter sounded pretty much normal. "Roy, this is hardly the time. We're still working!"

"I suppose that's true," Roy agreed, rather sheepish. "But for now, Mr. Todd, we're happy with just the three of us."

Deciding that he had heard enough, Edward stood up and sat on the sofa, slumping to the cushions lazily. Roy's answer… did it mean that he was willing to have a child with Riza if he could? Oh boy, perhaps he had to thank the universe that every night he had spent in the house had been filled with restful sleep instead of disturbing sound of bed creaking. And most likely Riza's gun. Yes, he was thankful the object was there.

It was lunchtime when the two adults finally went upstairs, and Edward was still slumped on the sofa. With a glance at them, he asked, "Was it true?"

"Was what true?" Roy asked back immediately.

"About you two wanting to have children?"

"You heard that?" Riza asked in surprise. "Of course not. We would be court-martialed."

"We needed to keep our cover and that seemed to be the best answer at the time," Roy explained. He heated the food Riza had cooked earlier in the morning as Riza set the table. Edward soon moved to help her.

"But…" Edward's eyes flickered around, "But, if you could, would you want to have children on your own?"

Riza didn't answer that, and Roy's smirk was somehow not as reassuring as Edward had hoped it would be.

* * *

A/N: urk. Slow internet. I feel like punching something. Just trying to upload this chapter proved to be a challenge in and of itself.

On a side note, _FREAKING FRICK_! Over 100 reviews and follows, over 65 favorites, and over 6,500 views?! This is so incredible!Thank you so much you all! I'd personally send you kisses but it'll take too long so let me give you this instead: :-*

Anyway, jelexd wanted to see Ed's thoughts about Roy and Riza's relationship, and Fire From Above wanted to see someone asking Roy and Riza if Ed could work at the bakery after school, and if they were planning to have more kids. I think the couple would handle it well considering Roy is a good actor and Riza can maintain a calm mask almost all the time, but Ed... he'd be traumatized for life, poor guy.

Right, so. I hope you enjoyed this. Still accepting requests here, you can either put it in a review or send me a PM, though I can't guarantee when it'll be uploaded. Please leave a review, and hope you have a good day!


	11. Cafeteria Brawl

Eleven: Cafeteria Brawl

"So… Stanley. What are we supposed to do here again?"

The lanky kid pushed his glasses up with his long fingers. "Well… normally, the teacher would give up some assignment to do during PE, but since he decided not to for today I guess we can study just about anything."

Edward perked up at that. He grinned. "Anything? Well that's good." Without further ado, he set off to the alchemy section and began searching through the titles to choose one of them. He vaguely registered Stanley following him, but he paid it no heed.

"Alchemy?" Stanley exclaimed.

"I'm interested in it," Edward explained briefly. He took a book and checked the description at the back cover before he shook his head a little and put it back in the shelf.

"Oh." Stanley watched him awkwardly as he took and returned several books, not finding the one he was looking for yet. After a while, Stanley spoke up, "Hey, Edward?"

"Hmmm?"

"Why are you always wearing gloves?"

Edward froze. His mind whirled, trying to remember the cover story he had invented to tell. "There's a nasty scar," he said after a moment. "It's the accident that took my leg. My arm was pretty messed up too, down to the fingers." He tugged the long sleeves of the shirt.

"O… oh. I see."

Finally deciding on the books, Edward took five books at once and carried it back to the reading area. Since he didn't have much time reading, he decided not to bring too many books. "Well, aren't you going to read something?" he called to Stanley.

"Oh. Right." There was a sound of a book being pulled out of its shelf, and soon Stanley was following Edward to one of the tables. Without paying him any heed, Edward opened the book and took a small notebook he purchased for research that he might conduct during the mission. His usual notebook was coded in a travel log, and it might hint someone of his true identity if it were to fall to someone's hand. For this mission, he coded the notes in something akin of a journal, detailing in the boring life of one Edward Mason; wake up, go to school, study, go home, eat, sleep.

"What subject do we have after PE?" Edward asked offhandedly.

"Lunch, actually," Stanley answered. "Afterwards it's Amestrian History."

Edward nodded and muttered a 'thanks', once again burying himself in the books he was currently reading.

Like how it always was whenever he was reading, time passed much too quickly to Edward's liking. He had shut the world out as usual, but then suddenly Stanley was pulling at his sleeve, looking both bewildered and annoyed.

"The bell's rung," he said. "We should go to the cafeteria before they run out of food."

"Let me return these first," Edward motioned towards the heap of books he had brought. It didn't take long for him to do it and catch up to Stanley who waited for him outside of the library.

"What do you think the cafeteria serves today?" Edward asked casually.

"I checked on the menu list earlier, they'll have mashed potatoes with smoked beef and vegetables."

Edward licked his lips. It sounded good enough. He only wished the school could provide him bigger portion of food. Maybe if he asked for more. And he could take a lot of bread, too.

They didn't see their classmates, but they supposed they were still changing anyway. It didn't take very long for them to get in the line and have their share of lunch (Edward's was enough to feed two hungry schoolboys, since he somehow managed to get the lunchlady to give him bigger portion, Stanley was positively impressed) and pick a table for them. Both of them had taken their fork and knife, ready to take the first bite, when a hand suddenly came down between them, ramming the table with a loud bam that was enough to make them jump but not enough to draw attention to them.

Edward looked up and immediately made a face. "Hey, Matt," he greeted without enthusiasm. He was never exactly chummy with the boy but ever since the day he tried to pry out on why he had lost his leg, he had rewritten Matt's status in his mental list from _kinda okay_ to _annoying as heck and should either be left alone or be punched repeatedly_.

Unfortunately, Roy wanted to draw as little attention towards his more 'barbaric' side as possible and project the whole _perfect family of three_ vibe at all time, so he would have to stick with _leave alone_ option. Which was hard to do considering they were in the same class.

"Hey," Matt greeted back with slightly more enthusiasm, but he turned away from him and stared at Stanley instead, completely ignoring Edward as if he was invisible. "So, Stan." He circled the table and sat next to the lanky boy, putting his own tray on the table and poured himself a glass of water. "You know the drill."

"Yeah, but, um," Stanley squirmed in his chair. "Can you maybe not do it today…? I mean I get that you're hungry after PE but I'm told that I need to eat more and…"

Matt laughed, effectively cutting Stanley off and irked Edward more than he thought possible. "Stan, Stan," he sighed at the end of his laugh. "I understand."

"Really?" Stanley perked up immediately, disbelieving and hopeful at the same time.

"Yep," Matt nodded. "I just don't care."

Edward's antenna twitched.

"Come on, man," Matt chuckled briefly, "consider my point of view for a bit! I've just gone back from PE! You know how ruthless Coach Riley can be, he's an absolute slave driver. Oh wait – you don't." He ignored the glare Edward was openly sending him and focused on Stanley, who was staring at him like a deer caught in the headlights. "Sorry, I forgot you spend your time sitting around in the library doing nothing. That must be a really luxurious time for you, since you get to doze off if you want to. And since you did nothing anyway, there's no way you're as hungry as I am! You get what I'm saying?"

"I guess…" Stanley mumbled weakly.

"Then we're in agreement," his right hand, holding his knife, moved to Stanley's plate.

Unable to hold himself back any longer, Edward's left hand, which was holding a fork, sailed towards Matt's knife. He trapped the knife between the metal bars of the fork and twisted it a little, making it impossible for the other boy to move the knife.

"Hey, what's your deal?!" Matt hissed in annoyance.

Edward's brow twitched. "You already have your own share, there's no need to rob his." His eyes glanced briefly towards his own tray. "If you're really that hungry I can give you some on mine instead."

Matt's ears reddened. "Thanks for your offer, but Stan and I have already reached an agreement, so you can mind your own business." He yanked the knife free.

"Really now? He fu – freaking told you not to right from the get-go, idiot," Edward pulled his hand back, fork gripped angrily. He wanted to cuss so badly, and having to consciously rein his tongue was hard, but since this was a school setting and there was a risk of being overheard he'd rather keep his language swear word free. No sense getting himself in trouble simply for a few so-called bad words.

If this were a military base he'd leave Matt shell shocked just from word choice alone.

"Yes, and after more discussion he agreed to share his lunch with me."

"Are you freaking kidding me? _You_ forced him into it, in case you haven't realized. Can't you just eat your own share and have this done with already?" And maybe go away, because Edward was beginning to lean into the _punch repeatedly_ option. And it was probably a good way to let go of his stress too.

"Shut it. You don't know anything."

"I know enough to tell that you're forcing him to do things against his will. That's pretty messed up in and of itself."

"That's why I said you don't know anything, retard. Stan and I… our relationship is a positive one." Matt smirked. "He gives me his lunch. Maybe do my homework. Basically do whatever I tell him to. And I make sure he won't collapse at school or something."

"Wow," Edward exclaimed after a moment of silence. "Alright, I see. Well here's the thing. _I actually have the brain capacity to tell if someone is actually being friends with another or just bullying them_. You know what, just go away from here. I don't want to catch your _stupid_. And I'm sure Stanley doesn't want to, either."

Stanley stared at him with open mouth, looking both awed and horrified.

Matt's eyes narrowed. "Are you saying that I'm stupid?"

"Yes. Or are you deaf? You didn't hear me earlier?"

Matt towered above Edward – impressive feat considering he was across the table. "You think you're really that much better? Hmmm? Guy with no leg?"

It struck a chord. Edward snapped towards him, eyes blazing.

"Considering that you didn't want to say anything about that accident of yours, it's probably your own fault you lost your leg. Maybe you even get someone hurt, too. Get off your high horse, you freaking part-robot."

Edward gritted his teeth. After a moment, he finally spoke, "At least I'm not actively trying to hurt someone." _Liar. Remember Alphonse? Remember how he lost his body because of you? Some older brother._

"At least I'm still a hundred percent human."

"Unfortunately, you're a pretty shitty human to ever grace the surface of Amestris."

Matt's eyes widened in anger, and his hand moved quickly, grabbing a hold of his full glass of water, and he threw the content to Edward's face. The water slapped his face painfully. As he gasped for air, the action Matt had just done pulled attention from nearby students, as they began to stare in surprise.

Matt smirked in victory and stepped back from his chair, taking his tray and walking away. He turned his head to Edward before he took his third step awat. "Maybe you should cool down a little. Plus, being watered might be the thing you need to grow up a little, short stuff."

"Who are you calling so small he can be mistaken for a beansprout that needs to be constantly watered in order to grow taller?!" Edward roared immediately. His hand swiped the still full pitcher of water sitting innocently on the desk and threw it to Matt. It landed on him in a simply perfect angle, leaving him drenched with water and a guaranteed sore neck. Matt dropped his tray instantly, which clanged on the floor at the same time as the metallic pitcher. The cafeteria was suddenly dead silent. All eyes were on the two dripping boys. Stanley stared at them, eyes darting from one boy to another, clearly wanting to bolt away but afraid that his sudden movement might trigger something from the two boys.

Then, suddenly, Matt roared and jumped over the table, knocking the two remaining trays to the floor and tackling Edward down, reaching for his collar. And suddenly Edward was on the floor, desperately holding his own against Matt who was easily bigger than him. He barely acknowledged the commotion around him, focusing instead to gain the upper hand.

Years of having to fight for his life finally paid off as he quickly used his automail arm to push Matt's neck aside and pinned him to the floor beside him. Matt quickly grabbed the arm to shove it away, but his movements stopped as he suddenly stared at the arm with more interest than necessary.

Edward jumped up and put a distance between himself and Matt as the other boy stood up. The crowd had ended up making a circle around them, staring, and someone suddenly started to chant, "Fight! Fight! Fight!"

The chant picked up in speed, and one or two people began joining in, but before it escalate further a voice coldly cut through the noise, "That's enough."

And the crowd parted to show Ms. Willard. Her face was stony, and Edward knew immediately that this lady was pissed. He felt color draining from his face. Pissed off ladies was never a good news. He had learned it the hard way. And while he didn't know if Ms. Willard was as scary as Izumi, the fact that she was a vice principal was enough of a threat for him.

"Edward Mason and Matthew Green," she called, voice chilly enough to freeze water. "Follow me."

Ms. Willard led them to her office, where she lectured them both of their action and how their school didn't appreciate such actions. After solid fifteen minutes of such speech, she sent Matt away with a piece of paper detailing on his punishment, telling him to find his homeroom teacher and that he should not try to avoid punishment, because she will know and there will be a more dire consequences. Matt went with a scowl in his face and a glare to Edward.

"What about me, Ms. Willard?" Edward asked, resigned to his fate.

Ms. Willard stared at him for a moment. "Fortunately for you, Edward, our school has a policy that states that the first time you break the rule you can get away with a simple lecture such as this. You do, however, get a note at your report card at the end of the semester. So long as you don't break the rules again I suppose it should be safe for you."

Edward gaped at her, not believing that he had somehow managed to avoid punishment and possibly Roy and Riza's wrath in the most ridiculously convenient way possible. When he realized what he was doing, he snapped his mouth shut. "It won't happen again."

"Then I believe we have nothing to worry about." Ms. Willard handed him a piece of paper. "Take that to your homeroom teacher. Good day, Mr. Mason."

* * *

Edward stepped into the house's bakery, where both Roy and Riza were working as usual. The bakery was scarce of any customer, and some of the baskets of bread in display were either nearly empty or totally empty. His stomach growled with hunger, and Edward casually took a piece of bread and started chomping on it.

"Edward, you know that's supposed to be for sale," Riza told him in disagreement.

Edward stared at her innocently. "But if this is our shop, shouldn't it be fine just taking one piece every once in a while."

Riza sighed and shook her head. "Don't make a habit out of it."

"Anyway, how was your day?"

Roy's question stopped him for a second, thinking. Then he shrugged. "Nothing unusual."

* * *

A/N: after days of being plagues by a writer's block it has finally left me alone. I am free!  
(For a period of time anyway. You know how writer's block never really leave. They might come back again sooner or later. Hopefully later.)

This is a request from Chimongra who wants to see Ed taking down bullies (just one here) verbally or physically and goes home to say that his day was normal. Though, the request actually asks that the bully will come to the house and try to exact revenge only to be screwed by papa and mama bear... Sorry, I'll have another chapter where papa and mama bear goes on a rampage.

Also, Just an avocado wants to see Ed getting into a fight. This isn't exactly a full-blown fight, but I hope that's enough.

Anyway, I have a bit of something to say... some days ago I thought about the abundance of OCs in this story and I suddenly thought, "I want X to die." Which messed me up quite a bit before I thought... well, why not? That'll push the plot about the killings forward, plus I can probably write angsty Ed, and who doesn't like angsty Ed? The problem is that after I thought about it I don't really want the aforementioned X to die and can't decide on who to sacrifice. I can't kill Vera though since I already have an important role for her later on, and same goes to Matt. I'm thinking someone who are a bit closer to Ed, not just some random classmate. So the choices are Ethan, Cara, Sherry, and Stanley (the aforementioned X is here but if you think X can create better angst... then so be it). Maybe Molly and April, though the first four will produce bigger amount of angst, probably. Any ideas?

That's all for now. I still accept request, in case you want to share your ideas. Please share your thoughts, review! Hope you have a great day!


	12. Treetop Talks

Twelve: Treetop Talks

When Edward walked into the classroom the next day, it was abuzz with activity. And for once, the hubbub wasn't around him.

"Did you hear?"

"Another family killed, right?"

"They said the killer only targets families of three. I'm worried, my older sister is married with a kid."

"And what about the rest of us who are the only child?"

"Oh, calm down. Aren't the military tracking this psycho down? Plus it isn't like one of us is going to be a victim; think of how small the chance is!"

He ignored the buzz and sat down on his chair, stormy expression set in his face. By his side, Vera immediately noticed it and asked him if there was anything wrong. He simply shook his head and took out his books, not wanting to talk to her about it.

To think that another fell victim to the killer he was supposed to be catching.

"Hey, Ed, are you okay?" Ethan sat at the seat in front of him. "You have this really scary look in your face. You're scaring Vera."

Edward glanced at the girl and realized the worried and somewhat disturbed look in her face. He felt a surge of guilt washing over him instantly. "Sorry," he mumbled to her. "It's nothing, really. Just… the news' doesn't exactly sound really good." _Especially since he was supposed to be a bait_.

"Oh yeah, you did mention being an only child," Ethan scratched his neck. "Well, if it's any consolation, many kids in this class don't have any siblings either, so it's not like you're the only one who's in the risk."

Ethan's words definitely made the opposite of the intended effect. Edward knew he only wanted to make Edward feel safer, but it only made himself feel worse. Just how many people were at risk? How many people will fall victim because of his incompetence?

The bell signaling the start of the lesson rung. The kid that occupied the seat Ethan was sitting on told him to go back to his own seat, and Ethan stood up.

"Anyway, cheer up," Ethan patted him at the back. "Don't wear that kind of face. You look better stuffing your face with food anyway."

"What the – are you asking to be punched?!"

If Ethan had wanted to answer, he didn't have the chance. The first period teacher walked into the classroom and the talking and chattering died down as they fell into the routine of reading and learning.

Any other day, Edward would have felt bored to death. This particular day he cursed his assignment to no end. He was supposed to be out there, finding out about whoever was doing this. He couldn't afford risking another family killed. He was an alchemist of the state, for heaven's sake, how could he be so helpless in this situation? It was almost ridiculous, really.

The day dragged on. The long awaited break finally arrived, and Edward was so relieved he could have a rest, though he had wished the break came earlier. He stretched, cracked his neck, and flopped down on his table, content to do nothing to wait for the day to end. That plan was disturbed by a quick knocking on his table.

He looked up in annoyance and quickly met the face of Matt, who stared at him with more intensity than he felt comfortable with. Edward scowled. "What?"

"I want to talk to you." Matt's eyes glanced to the side, where Vera was staring at him intently. "In private."

"Why bother? Just say whatever you want here."

"You sure? 'Cause I'm pretty sure you'd rather talk in private." Matt leaned in to whisper at his ear, "Your arm. I held it, remember?"

Edward went rigid immediately. He straightened in his seat and stared at Matt as he pulled away. Weighing his options, he opened his mouth and said, "Alright. Where do we talk?"

"E – Ed?" Vera stared at him in surprise, wide-eyed, a hint of panic in her eyes. He couldn't blame her for feeling that way. Ever since the almost-fight at the cafeteria the already rocky relationship between Edward and Matt went even rockier, peppered with barely concealed insults and a lot of nearly thrown punches. The only reason they hadn't outright fought each other was because their classmates constantly stopped them before the fight broke, and that the teachers seemed to pay extra attention between them.

"Don't worry, Vera," he waved the girl off. "It'll be fine."

Vera watched as the two boys left the class. Edward felt her eyes boring into his back with each step he took.

Matt led him to a secluded part of the school. There was no one there save for them, and it was a perfect place for a private discussion… or a fight.

Or perhaps, an ambush.

Edward hoped it wouldn't come to it. He stared at the other boy. "So? What exactly do you want to talk about?"

"I asked Stanley about your arm the other day, if he knows something about it," Matt's eyes were gleaming. With what, Edward couldn't tell. "He said you have scary scars down to the fingers, that's why you wear long sleeved shirt and gloves at all times."

"Yeah, I did tell him that."

"Which is funny… because I touched your arm when we were at the cafeteria the other time. I'm pretty sure what's under your shirt isn't flesh."

Edward stayed silent.

"It's another prosthetic, isn't it?"

Edward frowned. "And if I deny it?"

Matt rolled his eyes. "Come on, Ed. I'm not that stupid. I can tell. Your arm didn't feel like flesh under cloth, more like something really hard. Like iron." When Edward didn't respond, he sighed. "I can tell you don't want anyone to know, though."

"And?"

"Here's the deal. I won't tell anyone. But you have to do as I say."

Edward's eyes narrowed. "Is this blackmail?"

"That sounds so crude. But yeah, more or less."

Edward shifted his weight and shook his head. "I'd rather not take your offer, thanks."

"Would you rather have the whole school knowing that not only your leg is iron, your arm is too?"

"I don't care." And at that moment, Edward truly didn't care. Why would he care? A family died. He failed. He had been stuck in this place for far too long. He wanted to go back to his own routine of researching and actually trying to get Alphonse's body back instead of simply playing pretend here.

Clearly he wasn't cut out for this mission.

Matt looked taken aback by this. "… are you serious?"

"Do I look like I'm joking?" Edward scowled. "If that's all you want to talk to me about, I'm out of here."

"What – hold on a sec!"

Edward didn't pay him any more attention, opting to march back to class instead.

The classes that came after it went in a blur. Edward was focusing too much in his thoughts that he practically shut out other things. Ethan had tried to prod him to be more responsive. So had Stanley, Vera, Cara, and Sherry. He paid them no heed.

When he got back to his temporary house, he met the face of Roy and Riza, who were in the similar mood as him.

"How was your day?" Roy asked without much enthusiasm, more out of habit than actual curiosity.

"How do you think?" Edward shot back irritably. He turned to Riza. "Have you finished the chores of the day?"

"I haven't done anything today, to be completely honest," Riza admitted.

"I'll do all the chores today," Edward announced and walked upstairs. His march was stopped when Roy grabbed his wrist. He turned to face the older man, lips pressed to a thin line, refusing to speak a word.

"Have you been moping like this all day long?" he asked. "This isn't your fault, Ed. This isn't anyone's."

"But aren't we supposed to smoke this guy out?" Edward asked back harshly. "What good are we if we end up having another set of victims instead?" He shook his head and pulled his hand away, dropping his schoolbag haphazardly on the stairs without care. "I changed my mind. I'll take a walk outside to clear my head." He walked past Roy, ignoring both his and Riza's calls, and stormed out of the bakery.

He hadn't gone too far away from home when he heard distressed meowing from up above. He looked up, eyes searching the tree he was standing under, looking for the source of the sound. He found it immediately; a blotch of black and white and orange-brown so high that he nearly missed it. He wondered how the cat – a young one, judging from the size, though he wasn't sure because of the distance – managed to get up there. Then he remembered that cats were natural climbers. This one cat happened to be one that was afraid of heights, apparently.

The cat looked down and met his eyes. Its own bright yellow eyes went wide immediately, voicelessly staring at him helplessly. He simply stared at it with a straight face and turned away, wanting to go away, but immediately the cat howled pitifully. He considered leaving it.

 _Brother, why are you so cruel?! Look at that kitty! It's obviously scared and needs help!_

He groaned. "Damn you, Internal Al," he grumbled as he turned back to the tree and studied it. Then, steadily, he climbed up.

It took him a while, but he finally managed to get to the cat. He lifted it and held it in his arms, where it immediately curled around in, completely content.

He glanced down and whistled. "This is pretty high up. No wonder you're stuck, Cat." He held the cat in arm's length, looking at it right in the eyes. "Seriously though, don't climb too high if you're not sure you can't go down."

The cat meowed.

"I don't speak cat," Edward muttered. He put the cat down on his lap and leaned back. "Hey, do you mind if we stay up for a bit here? I kind of want to stay away from other people for a bit." The cat snuggled into his shirt. "Well, I'll take that as a yes."

Holding a cat against his belly like this reminded him of Alphonse way too much. He sighed. "I bet you get it easy, there, Kitty," he muttered. "No school, no military assignments, no failure, …" He was once again reminded by the newly fallen family. "I'm wondering why I'm even here. Aren't there more suitable people for this job?" He laughed hollowly, voice suddenly spiking to a louder volume. "What am I doing, talking to a cat?!"

"Boy?"

He jumped, nearly losing the delicate balance he had maintained because of the sudden call. Holding back a groan, he peered down to see the familiar face of one Mrs. Rattlebag. He smiled wryly. "Hello, Mrs. Rattlebag."

"Why are you up there?" the woman placed her hands on her hips.

"Oh," Edward held the cat for her to see. "This fellow here got stuck so I climbed up to help it get back down."

"So why aren't you getting down?" Mrs. Rattlebag's face scrunched up in thought. Before Edward could answer, her eyes went wide. "Don't tell me that you're stuck there too?!"

"What?! What makes you think – "

"You poor boy. I bet it's scary sitting up so high like that and look down."

"I'm not scared of – "

"You can say it if you're scared. I won't judge you."

"I am _not_ – "

"Hang on there, Dear, I'm going to look for help."

"Mrs. Rattlebag! You don't need to do that!"

"Don't worry, Boy, we'll get you down from there in no time – oh my!"

Edward peeked from the leaves to see tuft of black hair. "What's the matter, Mrs. Rattlebag?" he heard Roy's voice rang from down below.

"Your son is stuck in the tree, Mr. Mason."

"AM NOT!"

Roy looked up, and their eyes met. Edward watched as Roy shook his head and heaved a sigh. "Mrs. Rattlebag," he began, "I can assure you that Edward is alright. He just had a rough day today and he tends to do ridiculous things when he's upset. He'll come down given the time."

"Oh no, no, no. That's simply not acceptable. What if he's actually stuck up there, Mr. Mason? I'm calling for help."

"Wait," Roy held the woman's shoulder. "How about this; I'll climb up after him and try to get him down. If after fifteen minutes we're still up there you can call whoever you want."

There was a pause before Mrs. Rattlebag decided, "Alright."

Soon, Roy was climbing up the tree, and to Edward's surprise, it didn't take him a long time to reach him. He stood on a strong branch below Edward's, gaze level with his. Roy's eyes quickly caught the cat, and he pointed to it, asking, "How'd you get a cat?"

"It was stuck here," Edward explained. The cat sniffed Roy's finger as Edward talked. "I considered leaving it but it was howling like crazy. So I climbed this tree. Then I found out being up here is actually pretty nice. But then Rattlebag came and thought I was stuck. I totally am not."

"I see," Roy's eyes were still trained at the young calico cat. "She seems to have taken a liking to you."

"She?"

"Haven't you checked if it's a he or a she?"

Edward lifted the cat so that its stomach was at his eye level. Sure enough, the distinct lack of penis and testicles in the cat's anatomy confirmed its sex. "Huh." He put it back down.

There was a moment of silence before Roy asked, "Are you okay now?"

Edward scowled. "I'm still pissed off."

"Because of the case?"

"What else?!"

Roy stared at him for a long while before saying, "Look, Ed. This isn't your fault." When he received no response save for a stare, he continued, "This kind of mission is a hit and a miss anyway. There are a lot of families of three in this town. We can pose, we can try to bait the killer out, but there is no guarantee that we will be chosen as the next victim. We can only try to get this guy as soon as we can."

"That's another problem, isn't it?" Edward grumbled. "We don't know who he is, we don't know where he lives, we don't know anything about him."

"But this latest case gave us a clue." Roy's words drew Edward's attention to him. "While we couldn't save the victims, the location of their house made it possible for us to estimate where he lives, or at least where he feels at ease finding more victims. We can focus our search there."

Edward perked up immediately. "Where?"

"Northeast of the marketplace," Roy answered. "Considering that our place is the east side out marketplace, I don't think it's that much of a stretch that we might still look like a good target in his eyes."

Edward grinned predatorily. "Then we need to smoke this guy out as soon as possible. We can't have him killing anyone else, can we?"

"Before we can do that we should get down first," Roy pointed out as he reached out to scratch the cat in Edward's lap behind the ear. "Meet up with Riza. She was worried that you'd do something stupid."

"Something stupid? Me?"

"Ed, seriously?"

Edward laughed sheepishly. "Okay, okay. Let's go – "

A sudden coming crowd stopped him from talking further. Edward peered down with a frown in his face, followed soon by Roy, and both groaned when they saw Mrs. Rattlebag leading the crowd and that some people were holding a ladder, most likely to help them come down.

"Mr. Mason, I brought help," Mrs. Rattlebag called up from below proudly.

"Mrs. Rattlebag, I said wait fifteen minutes," Roy told her irritably. "This is hardly ten minutes."

"You have been up there for long enough! That's high enough for you to break your neck if you're to fall!"

"We're about to come down anyway!" Edward shouted. "Come on, let's just go down and have this over with."

"Alright," Roy nodded and quickly climbed down carefully, Edward following his example with the cat perched on his shoulder, claws buried deep into his clothes. He was just glad that it was his right shoulder and not his left.

Roy reached the ground before he did, and he looked up and called, "Ed, careful about that one branch, it's a bit slippery!"

"Oh, calm down," Edward rolled his eyes. "I'm sure it's nothing dangerous – EEP!" Before his sentence was even over, his foot slipped from the very branch Roy hand mentioned. He managed to land on his feet, though, since he was already close to the ground, but he lost his balance almost immediately. Roy quickly grabbed his arm and made sure he didn't fall.

"What did I just say?" Roy grumbled.

"That I should be careful?" Edward asked back innocently. At the look Roy gave him, he rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. I landed safely, didn't I? It's not like you need to bring me to the hospital and worry about the bill."

Roy shook his head and regarded the crowd. "We appreciate that you were willing to help, but as you can see it's all worked out now. Sorry to disturb you like this."

"It's fine, we're neighbors after all," one of the men at the area laughed. "Though, Kid, try not to get stuck on trees too often, alright?"

"For the hundredth time, _I wasn't stuck_!" Edward roared in annoyance.

The man laughed loudly. "Alright, alright. Don't get near any high trees so soon, though!"

"I'm telling you, I wasn't - !" Edward punched the air angrily, and remembered about the cat at his shoulder as he felt its tail tickling his ear. "Wait!" He took the cat off his shoulder and held it for the crowd to see. "This cat was on the tree earlier. Does anyone know who the owner is?"

Another man, about the same age as Roy, came closer and took a look at the cat. "Hmmm. I recall seeing this cat around for the past few days. But no, I don't know whose cat this is."

"Me neither."

"Same."

"It's probably not a housecat in the first place."

"I think it's actually a stray."

"Well," the man that laughed at Edward earlier mused, "since no one owns it and it seems to be attached to you already, why don't you just keep it?"

"Eh?!"

"It likes you already, and from the way it snuggles into your hand I don't think it'll leave you alone so easily. It would be easier to just keep it as a pet!"

Edward gaped, staring at him in disbelief, before turning to Roy with the same startled expression in his face. Roy simply stared at the cat thoughtfully. His charcoal black eyes met Edward's striking gold, and Edward felt a sinking feeling in his stomach immediately.

"Personally, I'm not much of a cat person and I'd rather not risk accidentally killing a cat," Roy began. Edward had just heaved a silent sigh of relief when the older man continued, "That's why this fella will be your responsibility."

Edward could only stare at him speechlessly with open mouth as the cat meowed contentedly in his hands.

* * *

A/N: Oh my God. After a long time of writer's block plague I have finally been able to banish it. Thank you, Muse! Thank you!

And just for the record, I haven't been planning to put that cat into the story, but Ed has somehow ended up with a pet, it seems. Al would be jealous. Does anyone want to name her? Because I don't have any idea what I should name her.

Now, I know that I write about a family of three getting killed here, but they aren't one of the characters I proposed in the previous chapter. They're strangers to Ed, but I wanted to bring that thing to light so that when my intended character dies it can feel even more gut-wrenching. Also this is somewhat of an answer to Fire From Above who wondered about how the investigation is going. And this amazing fella also suggested that I should kill the Aforementioned X, like my initial instinct, for the death plot point... I think I'll just go with it. It'll break my heart but it should be a good turn in the story later on.

This chapter is also for Brenne who wants to see Ed being stuck in a tree and meeting Mrs. Rattlebag who happens to be passing by, and the whole thing is supposed to be embarrassing for Ed but I feel that he'd lash out in annoyance instead of blushing when it comes to things like this. Rescuing a cat was in the list of the possible scenario of why he climbed a tree in the first place, and I guess that's how I got the idea of Ed ending up having to care for a kitty. I blame you for this, Brenne. I suspect that the kitty will end up being a plot device and it's gonna be great.

And a bit of an **_important notice: I have decided that I will stop accepting requests after the 16th chapter is up_**. So basically I will still accept requests after I post the 15th but once the 16th is online, I'll stop accepting them. This is because I intended to have around 20-25 chapters in this fic, and I think I'll be able to fulfill and maybe even surpass that target by now. I have no intention of making this fic so long that there is no end in sight... not that I hate that kind of stories, I like it, but I was never good at making really long stories, I get bored too easily. I don't want to end up making this story lose focus. So, if you have some ideas you want to share, you should do it soon!

Whooo, this note is getting too long. I should stop typing, I'm sure you're already tired having to see me babble like this anyway.

Please review and share your ideas, since I'm still welcoming them. Hope you enjoyed this chapter, and have a nice day!


	13. Group Project

Thirteen: Group Project

"Let's name her Lucifer!"

"Luci – Ed, no."

"Why not? It's a cool name!"

" _No_."

"What about Lucy instead? Lucy? Short of Lucifer!"

"Still no. What about Abigail? Or Abby? Allison?"

"Fluffy?"

Both Edward and Roy turned to look at Riza with wide eyes. "Fluffy?" they both repeated in surprise.

Riza shrugged. "The fur looks pretty fluffy to me."

Edward wrinkled his nose. "No offense, Mom, but you have no naming sense."

Roy glared. "Speak for yourself. Who names a little calico kitten 'Lucifer'?"

Edward glared back. "Seriously, what's so wrong with Lucifer? It's a badass name!"

" _Everything_. I won't let you name her after the devil. I know you've got bad taste, Ed, but come on."

"What?! You said yourself this cat will be my responsibility, how come you're shooting down my ideas now?!"

"Because you asked us to help with naming her!"

Edward opened his mouth to retort and closed it again. "Alright, I get your point, but that's not a reason to shoot down every idea I have."

"I won't shoot your ideas if they weren't bad in the first place!" Roy huffed and turned to the cat in annoyance. "What about Shorty? Shorty. Come here, Shorty."

"What – don't you dare call her that!"

Riza stared at the cat. "Well, it looks like Shorty is the best candidate, though. She responded to it."

Edward's head whipped to look at her, eyes wide. "What?!" He turned to the cat and called tentatively, "Shorty?"

The cat cocked her head to a side.

"See? Shorty is a good choice, after all!" Roy smirked smugly, and Edward honestly couldn't tell if he was pleased that his name choice was one that the cat liked or that he could call the cat and insult him at the same time. Perhaps both.

"I don't think that's good enough for a cat's name, Roy," Riza muttered with a frown. "What about Tiny instead?"

The cat meowed.

"Wait – no!" Edward turned to the cat frantically. "What about Amber? Autumn? Patches? Taffy?"

The cat nonchalantly licked her paw.

"… Tiny?"

Immediately the cat sprang to her feet with a soft meow and rubbed her head on Edward's hand.

"Tiny it is!" Roy announced happily. "Great choice, Riza. I think you nailed it completely."

"Thank you, Roy."

"Why…?" Edward lifted the cat. "Why do you have to favor that name? Whyyy…?"

"Don't blame the cat! You can't help your poor sense of style either, Ed."

"Stop it!" Edward barked. He straightened up. "Oh, yeah… Is it okay if some of my classmates come here tomorrow? We want to do a group project."

Riza frowned in confusion. "Not that I want to tell you that you can't do that, but why do they choose this place?"

"Well…"

 _"_ _Hey, whose place should we choose to be the meeting place?" Sherry asked._

 _"_ _We should choose a place with the most snack!" Cara grinned. "That's the most important thing!"_

 _"_ _Most snack?" Edward repeated strangely. "Not the place with better learning environment?"_

 _"_ _Trust me, Ed, with the presence of food studying will be much more bearable."_

 _"_ _Vera, will you do the honor and become the host?" Ethan playfully bowed to Vera._

 _"_ _Ah… sorry, no," Vera shook her head. "I'd bake you something, but there isn't really much time to shop for all the ingredients and make them."_

 _"_ _Awww, that's too bad," Cara moaned. "I love your chocolate cookies."_

 _"_ _Well… I can bake you a batch sometime?"_

 _"_ _Really?! Thanks Ver, I love you so much!"_

 _"_ _Wait, so whose place it is we should go to?" Ethan asked again. "We need to do the thing as soon as possible, the deadline's less than a week!"_

 _"_ _Wait, if it's food we're worried about, shouldn't we just crash at Ed's?" Sherry asked innocently. "After all it's a bakery. We can just grab a thing or two and go back to make the assignment."_

 _"_ _Wait, what?"_

 _"_ _Great idea!"_

 _"_ _Yeah, let's go to Ed's!"_

 _"_ _Wait a minute – "_

 _"_ _Let's do it at the weekend. That way we have the whole day to work."_

 _"_ _Yep. That sounds like the best plan at the moment."_

 _"_ _Because it's the only plan we have right now, silly."_

 _"_ _Do I even get a say on this?!"_

 _"_ _Let's vote! Who agrees to do the assignment at Ed's place?"_

 _All hands shot up with the exception of Edward's._

"… that's basically how it went," Edward concluded.

Roy snorted in amusement. "I guess it's fine. We do have a surplus of bread."

"Alright, thanks!" Edward grinned. He then stared at Tiny, frowning. "By the way… can I call Al?"

"Why?"

"I need his advice on how to take care of a cat."

* * *

"I want this one!"

"What the – Sherry, you've already taken many! Put it back!"

"Whaaat? Don't be a meanie. It's just one more piece of bread!"

"You're gonna make us undergo bankruptcy!"

"Fine, I'm putting it back."

"Isn't it odd to see him interact with people his own age?" Riza whispered to Roy as she watched Edward with his classmates. She was honestly surprised to see him acting as the responsible one out of the five. Maybe it was because of the times he had to care for Alphonse, but since Alphonse was usually the more sensible of the two it was surprising, refreshing even, to see him act more mature for once.

"Yeah," Roy whispered back to her. "I'm just wondering why he can't act like this when it comes to his reports."

Riza shot him a look. "Sir, please think about this before you make such comments. You aren't much better with your own paperwork."

Roy winced. "Fine, fine, sorry. I take that back."

"I think we're all set," Ethan spoke up calmly, adjusting his bag at his back. "Should we go upstairs now?"

"Of course you're all set, you're the one who took the most bread," Edward grumbled under his breath. "Come on, then. Let's get the assignment over with already."

"Oh, Ed?" Riza called before the group went upstairs, "Use the dining room! The table's clear so you can use it."

"Right, thanks Mom."

Both adults watched as the five teenagers climbed up the stairs. Riza made a mental note about each child. Ethan seemed to be the most collected after Edward, though he had this playful vibe around him. Vera was the quietest of them all, timid and wary though she acknowledged the adults in the room too. Cara seemed to be protective of Vera, though she enjoyed messing with the other kids too. Sherry, though… she seemed like the type that would be content watching the world burn as long as she didn't burn with it and had a box of popcorn at her side to enjoy the show. Riza decided that she would check the kids later, just to check if they'd burn the house down. She listened as their chattering died away as they went further up the stairs. It didn't take long before the girls' squeals rang through the house, and Riza caught the word 'cute' and 'adorable' being thrown around.

"Tiny?" she muttered to Roy.

"Must be her," Roy agreed.

They spent their time attending to the bakery, making sure to listen to whatever sound might come from above. It was relatively quiet, save for the occasional discussion or arguments about the assignment they were working on. At one point, someone – Riza suspected Edward – had burped aloud and muttered 'sorry', and soon after loud laughter broke through the place.

The clock ticked by, and soon it was lunchtime. Roy turned to Riza, asking, "Should we close the bakery for a bit to eat lunch? I think the kids should be hungry by now, too."

Riza glanced at the door. "It may be the best solution."

"What do we have for lunch?"

"Some chicken with cream and baked potatoes. It should be enough."

Roy smiled wryly. "Not with Ed around."

"Good thing I prepared a lot this morning," Riza shrugged.

They climbed up the stairs and came into the dining room, not wholy surprised to see the kids doing their assignment seriously. Perhaps it was Edward that made them surprised – it wasn't common for him to show such serious expression when working on things not related to alchemy.

Then again, he was always more responsible when there were other people involved.

Roy looked around the room and saw Tiny laying on the desk, one paw resting snugly on top of Edward's paper, and he smirked. "Hello, Tiny."

Edward's antennae twitched and he yelled instantly, "Who are you calling a tiny little runt?!"

Roy's smirk widened. "Easy there, Ed. I was calling the cat."

Edward's eyes strayed over to the calico cat, who returned his gaze innocently. "Oh. Right."

Ethan grinned at him. "You don't like being called short?"

"Who does?!"

"Then why do you name your cat 'Tiny'?"

"… that's the only name she'd respond to."

Sherry burst out laughing. Edward glared at her.

Riza smiled at the interaction, fondly marveling at how Edward interacted with his friends. "Now, now. You should clear the table. Let's eat lunch together."

"Right," Edward nodded, ushering Tiny from the table and gathered his books. His friends quickly followed suit. It didn't take long before the table was set and the people were eating, chatting all the while.

"Did you choose the group yourselves or did the teacher assigned it?" Roy asked curiously.

"The teacher did," Cara answered as she cut a piece of meat on her plate. "And for a good reason, too. If he didn't every girl in class would flock around Ed. They seem to always forget that he's taken already." Edward's face burned at the comment, and he coughed a little, nearly choking on his potato.

"Then why is this particular group together?" Riza asked curiously, seeing that three out of five of them were females.

Cara, Sherry, and Vera exchanged a look while Ethan hid a grin. "We're the only ones who wouldn't squeal when Ed's around," Cara and Sherry answered together, with Vera nodding in agreement in the background.

"You should start bringing that girl's picture to ward the girls off," Roy smirked to Edward, raising a brow teasingly at him.

"Shut up, you," Edward grumbled and stuffed his face with chicken.

The lunch went without any notable incident. Before they finished, though, the phone rang loudly. "I'll get it," Riza stood up quickly before anyone else could say anything and picked up the phone. "Hello, Mason residence."

"Hello, Mrs. Mason!" Riza recognized Alphonse cheerful voice immediately. "Is Br – I mean Ed! Is Edward there?"

"Yes, he's here," Riza ignored Alphonse's slip up. "Would you like to talk to him?"

"Yes, please."

Riza pulled the receiver away from her ear and called, "Ed? Al is on the phone!"

Immediately Edward stood and marched to her. "I'm taking the call!" he yelled aloud, as if scared Riza would disconnect the call as soon as he came close. Riza handed him the receiver and he grasped it like a lifeline, cautiously calling, "Al?"

"Brother!"

Riza watched as a smile bloomed in Edward's face, and for the umpteenth time Riza wondered how this child coud end up being an alchemist of the state. She patted his arm and left for the table, joining Roy and the teenagers once more.

"Is that Edward's girlfriend?" Cara asked curiously.

"No, it's his… closest friend," Riza settled. "He misses him just as much as he does his girlfriend, I believe."

"Eh? Winry's there too?"

Roy smirked. "Never mind. The girl will speak with him shortly." He glanced at Edward, watching how he spoke on the phone, face so loose of tension and stress that seemed to be haunting him perpetually.

"Hey, Win!" he greeted cheerfully. "Yeah, I'm fine. _Yes_ , the automail's fine. _NO_ , I haven't wrecked my automail! Why is it that every time we speak, you always scream to me about the automail – heck no I don't – _AM NOT_!" There was a pause. "Do you honestly think I enjoy being mauled by your wrenches and having to walk around using the crappy spare prosthetics?!" Another pause. "For Heaven's sake, Winry, why can't you have a bit of faith in me?"

Ethan turned to Roy in confusion. "That's her girlfriend?"

Roy nodded an affirmative. "The one and only."

"Why does it sound like they're arguing?"

"It's because they are."

"That's normal?"

"For them? It is."

Ethan threw Roy and Riza an incredulous look, and they both snickered at his face.

"Yeah, I got a cat with me now," Edward's voice made its way back to the dining table. "She's not with me right now, though." A pause. "Yeah, that's one of my concerns. I don't think I can take care of her in the long run." Another pause. "Al? Uh, yeah. Not possible, sorry – Winry, no, you've seen what Den can do to kittens – No, Al, we can't, we've gone through this before – _Are you two sharing the phone receiver?_ "

Sherry turned to Roy and Riza with a frown. "You can't take care of Tiny in the long run?"

Roy and Riza shared a look. "It's a personal reason," Roy settled finally, "One that we're not comfortable sharing with people."

Sherry nodded at that. It was clear that she was still curious, but she knew where she should step back.

The phone call went on, and the group finished their meal and conversed on their own. It wasn't long after they scraped their plates clean of the food when Edward spoke his goodbye to Alphonse and Winry and promised her to take better care of his automail and returned to the table.

Cara was grinning wildly when he sat down. "So that was your girl?" She laughed aloud when he blushed a deep red, looking torn between denying and helplessly staying silent.

"We heard your conversation," Vera muttered to Edward, drawing attention to herself. "Is it true you can't take care of Tiny?"

"Ah… no," Edward shook his head. Vera made a small noise, looking disturbed somehow.

"I'd help, but my parents are against pets," Cara mumbled, turning serious.

"Same, my sister is allergic," Sherry added.

Vera sighed. "My father dislikes animals."

"Hey, it's nothing big," Edward immediately said, trying to lighten his friends' mood. "I'll figure something out."

"Actually…" Ethan spoke up, "I think I can help. I can take care of Tiny for you, and I can bring her here once in a while if you want to, or you can come to my place every now and then. My parents won't object since we've been looking for a pet anyway."

Edward stared. "Is this really okay?" he asked softly.

"Of course it is," Ethan grinned. "Besides, Tiny's really cute."

And a smile bloomed in Edward's face.

* * *

A/N: School. It is the absolute bane of my existence. So sorry for this waaay overdue update. School started around three weeks ago and oh God, how is it that I already have tests and tons of assignments so early in the game?

Anyway, Fire From Above asked for a group assignment chappie. I burst out laughing when I read this request, because honestly? I've been planning to write this chapter for weeks. Did you read my mind or something?

And a guest also mentioned something about Winry knowing the whole girlfriend thing from a phone call, or she visits them and knows it, or something. I'm leaning to the latter idea where she visits them, but here's a phone call with her and Al. The Winry visits thing will most likely be written later, near the end.

And thanks for all the cat names you sent me! The winner is inkspilt (AO3) who came up with Shortie, so Roy can mock Ed and say he's just calling the cat. I feel that Tiny is a cuter name, though, so I apologize for changing it.

Also, a bit of reminder: **_I'll stop accepting requests once 16th chapter is up._** So fire away your requests while you still have the time!

And not to forget a bit of shameless self-promotion: another reason why this update is really late (sorry again) is because I've been working on a new fic. It's based on an idea from liberty-flight (tumblr) which calls for Homunculus Roy and Riza. This idea also inspires The Flame and Hawk's Eyes' _Hellbound_ , so I'm sure there will be some similarities in the story. I've decided to call the fic _Six of Hearts_ , which toys with playing cards (which might explain the title). I've only written the first chapter though, and I'm not sure when I can post it, plus I'm still a bit worried about it and I feel that maybe I need a beta reader for this one. Romance is never my forte and I plan to have lots of it in this fic.

Oh well, that note is long enough as is. So, please leave a review when you walk out, tell me what you think. Have a nice day!


	14. Scalded Skin

Fourteen: Scalded Skin

As Sunday rolled around, Edward learned another thing about himself that he never knew before.

He had a love-hate relationship with weekends.

While he loved the off time he could use to stop worrying about having his cover blown, there was a thing he didn't like about weekends. And it was how he had to sit idly at the house doing nothing significant. He could be going out there researching about Philosopher's Stone with Al, but nooo, of course he had to be stuck here in this house doing nothing but boring chores, since a kid his age wasn't supposed to be researching a mythical stone with the ability to amplify alchemical powers, especially since he wasn't supposed to have the ability to even transmute. Weekends ended up becoming a time for him to laze around in the house.

 _Homework? What homework? I have no homework. Probably._

And due to the time he had to wake up so early in the morning in order to go to school, Edward had no problem getting up before because of the newly made habit. That meant more time to waste by staring at nothing.

He glanced at the clock and saw that it was eight. Eight in the morning. With a sigh, Edward dragged himself out of bed and started getting himself dressed. He soon left the small room he was using and head straight for the dining room. Roy and Riza were probably already there, eating and drinking and reading newspaper, getting ready for the demanding job at the bakery later on.

As he had suspected, both adults were already in the room, calmly eating their breakfast while discussing about the week's sales. Edward was once again struck by how normal they looked, how easily they could seem like a real couple. He scratched his head, once more wondering why he was sent with them, before he sighed and greeted, "Mornin'."

"Good morning, Ed," Riza greeted back, while Roy grunted an unintelligible response. "Did you get a good night's sleep?"

Edward shrugged in response. He reached for a bread to eat while lamenting how he had started to grow bored of the food and glanced at Roy. He was an alchemist, just like him. Surely the lack of stimulation to his intelligence bore him just as much as it did Edward? Could he maybe prod the older man to do something a bit more exciting, just once?

Roy noticed his stare and lifted his brow. "What is it?" he asked.

Edward licked his lips. "I was wondering… since we have nothing better to do, can you maybe… um, teach me?"

"Teach you what?"

"Flame alchemy."

As a response, Roy spilled his coffee on his shirt and swore profusely, while Riza went rigid immediately before she sprang to help Roy. Edward stared at his place, surprised, wondering what exactly he had done wrong.

"Don't," Roy took a deep breath and swallowed, seemingly surprised by the harshness of his own tone, "ask me that again."

"But why?" Edward asked with a frown. "It's boring sitting here all day long, and I can't really do my research about the stone while I'm here. Isn't it better to just learn about a new branch of alchemy?"

"You are _not_ learning about flame alchemy," Roy growled, "and that's the end of it."

Edward glared. "Fine," he gritted, eyes blazing. "Fine."

* * *

He waited until the older occupants of the house left for the bakery and started to fall into their usual charade before he started sneaking into their room.

"If you think I'd stand back and sit like a little kid, _Dad_ , then you're dead wrong," Edward grinned, muttering the word 'dad' sarcastically. It almost tasted like poison on his tongue, the word. But that shouldn't be surprising, remembering the relationship he had with his biological father.

He quietly scampered to the bed, fumbling with the pillows and trying not to leave any trace. He cringed when he saw the gun buried under one of the pillows. Riza's side, then. He circled the bed and reached the other side, looking for any sign of the pristine white gloves with red transmutation circle stitched on it. After a moment of searching, he found it at the bedside table, hidden under a pile of fiction novels and a notebook and a pen. He quickly laid the gloves out to see the details of the transmutation circle, ingraining it into his mind, before he took a notebook and a pencil from his pocket and started copying the circle. He was tempted to simply take the gloves away, but then Roy would notice, and he'd really rather not have him noticing what he was doing.

It didn't take long for him to finish the drawing, but it took him some time to compare the two circles. He wanted them to be exactly alike. He had no idea about how flame alchemy worked, and this was reckless even to his standard, so he wanted to minimize the risk of any accidents happening somehow.

It was still highly dangerous, but oh well.

When he was sure the circle was perfect, he left the room and slipped into his own. He had prepared some matches before, since he knew that Roy didn't create fire out of nothing but rather from the sparks produced by his gloves. He didn't have that option so he needed another way to create flames.

He studied the circle closely. The circle didn't actually control flames, rather it controlled the concentration of oxygen present in the air, allowing the alchemist to target an object which he wants to burn by manipulating the density level of the oxygen around said object. Carefully, Edward put the paper on his desk and pressed his fingers at the edge of the small circle, activating it. Immediately he heard the soft whizz of air coming into his room through the small gaps between the door and the floor and the ventilation. Surprised by how easy it was to operate the physics behind the infamous flame alchemy, he grinned. He wondered how long it took Roy to study this. He was pretty sure he broke his record.

His eyes strayed over to the match he had put on the table. Should he try lighting the match? He searched around and decided to transmute his bedside lamp into a bowl of sorts to avoid having his desk burnt and tore another piece of paper – a bit larger than the one adorned with the transmutation circle – and put it in the bowl. He calmly lit the match and threw it into the bowl, and the paper immediately caught the flames and started burning. Edward watched with interest. It seemed that the paper was burning in a faster pace than usual. It was probably because of the elevated concentration of oxygen in the room.

He placed his fingers on the transmutation circle and activated it again, condensing the oxygen around the paper, watching in fascination as the paper burnt faster. He increased the concentration of oxygen again and again, more and more, and the fire grew bigger, bigger, bigger,…

Then, suddenly, an explosion.

It wasn't a big explosion, nothing like the controlled booms Roy made all the time, it was simply a small poof compared to Roy's work. But the force was enough to knock Edward back. He cried in pain when he felt heat clamping his right shoulder, right where the automail met the skin, and the pain at the right side of his face. He hissed, trying to hold the pain in check, and quickly assessed the situation.

His desk was burning.

And he froze in shock for a moment, barely registering what was actually happening, because _isn't that my desk, why is it on fire, that wasn't even that big of an explosion_ when the sudden sound of someone running rammed into his ears and the door to his room was opened forcefully. He turned to the door and felt his blood run cold when he saw Roy standing there, staring at the table with an expression Edward couldn't read. The older man quickly bolted out, but it took him less than ten seconds to run back in, hands covered with gloves. The transmutation circle stitched into the gloves gave blue sparks, and immediately the fire was quenched. Edward watched, both awed and scared, as Roy took a deep breath.

The man then turned to Edward and the boy stiffened once more, color draining from his face. Roy's gloved hands moved to him and Edward flinched, closing his eyes tightly and prepared himself in case Roy would hit him or yell at him.

Instead, he felt the gloved hands patting him and checking him. He peeked warily, but Roy wasn't meeting his gaze, opting instead to tend to his burns. Edward stared at him awkwardly, mumbling, "Uh…"

"Did you copy the transmutation circle?"

Edward flinched again when he heard the question. He couldn't tell if the tone was upset, or angry, or possibly other things. He swallowed hard before answering softly, "Yes…"

"Why?"

Edward looked away. "I was just… I want to learn about it, okay?"

"Didn't I tell you that you're not allowed to?" there was a quiet sort of anger in the voice now, the calm before the storm, and Edward found himself regretting his decision to copy the transmutation circle in the first place. He kept his head down and stayed silent, guilt taking away his willingness to talk, and Roy sighed. "Are you hurt?" he asked finally.

Edward looked up to meet his eyes. "What?"

"Aside from the burns in your face, are you hurt?"

"Um…" Edward's eyes darted to his shoulder, "Not really, but the shoulder, where the automail and the flesh meets, is burnt. I think."

"Alright," Roy helped him to his feet, "Let's go to the kitchen to tend to your wounds. I'll have Riza help us and have the bakery closed for a bit."

Edward dazedly followed as he was led to the kitchen and sat down on one of the chair. His eyes followed as Roy rushed downstairs to tell Riza to close the bakery for a bit before he went back up again and started wetting a piece of clean cloth with cold water. Calmly, he pressed it gently to Edward's face, ignoring the boy's hiss of pain.

"Take off your shirt," Roy told him. "We need to get a look at your shoulder, too."

Edward did, carefully, while Roy held the wet cloth against his cheek. Soon Riza was upstairs, quickly flitting through the house to look for a painkiller of sorts. Roy kept staring as Edward undid his buttons and slid out of his shirt. He heard the older man give a sharp breath when the shirt was finally off. Edward glanced at him, catching the sight of Roy staring at his shoulder with a mix of feelings he couldn't identify. Dread? Anger? Maybe even realization? He couldn't tell. There was a light gasp from the door, but when Edward turned, he only saw the ever-collected face that Riza always wore. She had something in her hand, but Edward couldn't see it, since it was obscured by her hand.

A light touch at his shoulder made him jolt in surprise, and Edward turned to look at Roy. He was still staring, finger lightly touching, and he wore a frown at his face. "You have a lot of scars," he observed quietly. His finger slowly began tracing the scars, so careful, as if he was handling a delicate, fragile artifact of highest value and the lightest touch could break it into pieces, instead of a human being who had gone through a lot of things and dragged, clawed his way out of the hell he had fallen into.

"Automail surgery and recovery," Edward responded, equally quiet and slightly wary. He turned when Riza sat next to him and put another cool, wet cloth on his person, this time on his shoulder. They sat in silence, both adults repeatedly rinsing the cloths and putting it back on Edward's skin whenever it lost the coolness it held. Edward kept sitting there, fidgeting ever so slightly, wondering if he would be punished for what he had done.

"How was school?" Riza asked at some point, and Edward suspected it was more of an attempt to break the awkwardness than a genuinely curious question.

"Fine," he answered anyway. "Just fine."

"No problem whatsoever?"

 _My cover might be blown already_ , he thought, remembering how Matt had found out about his automail arm. "No," he settled, not wanting to risk the two adults' further fury.

"That aside, I still need to talk to you about this," Roy interjected, gesturing to the general direction of Edward's face and shoulder. Edward threw him a wary look immediately. While he had never actually invoked the colonel's anger, he had heard that he could be _freaking scary_ when he was. And he was an alchemist. All of a sudden he remembered his own teacher when she was angry, and he felt his face draining of all color. Inwardly he prayed Roy wouldn't be as scary as Izumi.

Ironically, the sudden change of his face's coloring seemed to defuse Roy immediately. He frowned, more out of worry than anger this time, and he spoke soothingly, "Ed, please. Don't be like that. I'm not angry, not really."

"You aren't?" Edward asked in surprise.

"Not so much as I am frustrated, no."

"Frustrated?"

Roy stared at him in a mix of amusement and annoyance. "I'm pretty sure I made it clear that I don't want you learning about it."

Edward averted his eyes. "I'm just… it really irked me, okay. Why is it that I can't learn flame alchemy? You use it all the time. And I tried it, it wasn't really that hard."

"Ignoring the fact that you got hurt, yeah, it sure wasn't hard for you," Roy bit back immediately. "What makes flame alchemy difficult and highly dangerous is the control. Everyone can spark fire once they know how. The problem is to keep it under control, but that's just it. You _don't_ control the flames."

"Well how do _you_ do it then?" Edward challenged, getting annoyed that he was being reprimanded despite the fact that he knew he was in the wrong. "If it's so difficult to control how do you do it?"

"I don't. Not even I am spared from the flames."

And then it occurred to Edward that he might have crossed a line. Roy fought in Ishval. He had heard stories, read books about it, and even though he didn't know for sure he could imagine, somewhat, how hard the battles had been. It wasn't impossible that Roy had somehow gotten trapped in a burning building, or burned in a way or another. He clamped his mouth shut. "But," he began again stubbornly after a bit, "such powerful alchemy, isn't it invaluable? Shouldn't you try to teach someone?"

Riza tensed immediately, hands gripping his injured flesh tightly and causing him to shout in pain. She let go immediately, muttering words of apology, but her voice was tight. Edward stared at her in a mix of pain, annoyance, and confusion. It wasn't like her to lose control so easily. The wet cloth fell from his shoulder to the floor, forgotten.

"Why the reaction…?"

Edward suspected Roy would speak again, but to his surprise, it was Riza who answered. "There is a reason why flame alchemy shouldn't be taught to anyone." She stared into his eyes as she spoke. Her fingers were trembling, and Roy put his hand on her shoulder to calm her. It seemed to be working, but not by a huge margin. She gulped and took a deep breath. "It's not just the danger. There are many things that factor into this."

Edward wanted to ask more, but the look in both the adults' eyes held him back. "Okay," he said instead, "I won't ask to learn it again."

The answer seemed to satisfy both adults, and they continued treating Edward's burns. The work was done quickly and carefully, and both Roy and Riza worked with practiced ease and amazing precision, so much that Edward was convinced that they were used to having to deal with burns and scalds. It didn't take long for them to step away from him, convinced that he was alright.

"We'll be downstairs attending to the bakery again," Riza announced. "If you need anything just call us, we'll help you."

"Okay. Thanks, Mom."

Riza smiled softly. "You're welcome, Edward." She walked down the stairs, still with the same soft smile gracing her lips.

"Be careful with your burns," Roy reminded him sternly as he started to the stairs.

"Yeah, yeah. Thanks, Roy."

Roy threw him a look. "It's 'Dad', Ed. How many times do I have to remind you? We can't have someone doubting our cover, now."

"Oh, right," Edward blinked, suddenly remembering what Mrs. Rattlebag said when she forced her way into the house when they just moved. "Well, thanks… Dad."

Roy straightened up a little, surprised by the word, but soon a smile bloomed in his face. "It's no problem, Ed," he told him calmly and walked down the stairs.

 _Dad_. Edward bit his lips and rolled the word silently on his tongue.

Funny. It didn't taste like poison anymore.

* * *

A/N: _I have sinned. How is it that I can post this chapter this late._

Laments aside, I guess it's a miracle already that I even have the time to write this. School has been so... demanding. Lots of tests and assignments I can't even care less about (we were asked to do a research about a historical place. *****, the whole town is a historical place!). I guess it's to be expected since this is my final year. Not to mention I met this girl who is now basically now best friend, whose interests and even thoughts pattern happen to be really similar to mine. We've even made plans to go backpacking after we're done with our school and visit lots of haunted places since we both like horror stuff. We've been having a blast touring through great dining venues. Of course, as the result, both our wallets suffer.  
Yes basically I'm saying that I haven't been writing because school is demanding but also I've been hanging out a lot sorry not sorry

Anyway this is dragoscilvio's request, which asked for Ed somehow burning himself when playing around with flame alchemy and Daddy!Roy tending to his wounds. I suspect you wanted fluff, but it seems that I'm not exactly gifted in the arts of cutesy stuff. It seems that angst is easier for me. Oh well I hope you enjoyed this anyway.

I don't think I will be making any more updates any time soon, sorry. Next week my schedule will be filled with lots and lots of assignments I happen to care about (it's a miracle in and of itself) and lots and lots of writing for a competition I joined on the behalf of my school. The deadline's in the end of August and I haven't finished it yet. Eek. Wish me luck, maybe?

And requests are still welcome! Leave them behind, and share your thoughts, please. Click that review button, it seems to be dying to say hello to you. Hope you have a great day!


	15. Bedtime Discussion

Fifteen: Bedtime Discussion

"Did you see the scars?"

The question threw Riza off-guard, and she turned to Roy with a solemn look. "Yes," she admitted. "There are a bit too many for my liking."

"It wasn't just _a bit_ ," Roy sighed. "There are just too many."

Riza couldn't help but nod in agreement as she absently ran her hand through her slightly damp hair. She had taken a shower a few hours before and her hair still hadn't dried yet. Another drawback from having long hair, she supposed, but damn, did it make her look good. "Though, automail _does_ have that effect, difficult surgery and therapy and all. But I'm not entirely sure his scars are all from the automail ordeal."

Roy shook his head. "No," he remarked as he watched her sit on the bed they shared. "I saw some scars that looked familiar. They appeared in his medical reports."

Riza stared, waiting for the man to continue. He seemed to sense the silent order, and sighed as he sagged into his pillow, which he had arranged in a way that he could use it as a makeshift sofa together with the bed. "They're from wounds. Ones he got from missions." The rest of the sentence went unspoken. _The missions_ I _sent him away to._

Riza shook her head as she stared at Roy. "Roy," she began, but Roy held up a hand to stop her.

"This life right now," he said, deep voice reverberating with something so close to heartbreak, "isn't this supposed to be what he's living? He and Alphonse? He's supposed to go to school and study, learn about responsibility, get to fights, develop crushes. Instead Edward has to work as a military dog and Alphonse is stuck in a suit of armor."

Riza stayed silent, calmly fingering her damp hair as she watched Roy speaking. She had a feeling he wasn't finished yet.

Roy shook his head as he sagged even deeper into his pillow. "This kind of life isn't one a kid his age is supposed to lead. I knew all along. Military is harsh. It's not a place for a kid. And yet," he barked a laugh, "and yet I throw him headfirst into it anyway."

Riza cocked her head. "You're underestimating Edward," she stated simply.

The words seemed to jolt Roy. "What…?"

"You offered him a way out of his problems," Riza elaborated. "You have seen, yourself, how he looked in that moment when you stepped into the Rockbell house. That time, Edward was feeling so guilty, he looked like he was dead already." She leaned forward to Roy. "But when I said that I'd never seen a pair of eyes so dead before… didn't you contradict me? You said it yourself. There was fire in those eyes."

"What's that got to do with – "

"Roy," the single soft word shut him up immediately. " _You_ sparked that fire. _You_ gave it the fuel to keep burning. You gave a way for Edward to stay alive."

A thousand emotions flitted through Roy's dark eyes. "I suppose," he admitted. "But still. I was the one who told him about his chance to become a State Alchemist. I recommended it, in fact. That's like shoving a knife to someone's hand."

"You may have given him the knife, but he was the one to choose what he wants to do with it," Riza countered immediately. "I've told you already. You're underestimating Edward. He's a smart kid. Even if we didn't show up in Resembool that time, Edward would still have looked for a way to restore Alphonse. Eventually he'd realize that the quickest way to do that is to gain as much information as possible, and the easiest way to gain information is to become a State Alchemist." Her gaze softened. "If anything, you're keeping them safe. We both know there are many who wouldn't think twice before exploiting them both to the fullest to gain the highest rank possible."

"Aren't I the same?" Roy asked with a frown.

"Maybe at the start," Riza admitted. "But not anymore. Besides," she leaned forward, "you always put your subordinates' safety and well-being above everything else. Don't you?"

A small smile finally broke through Roy's face, but as soon as it came, it fell. This time, though, his face looked more grim than guilty. "He's been through a lot, hasn't he?"

Riza couldn't help but nod. "More than anyone his age should have gone through." Then, with heavier tone, "More than _anyone_ should have gone through." She reached for a comb she put on the bedside table. "It's amazing, really, how much work he's dedicated into this job."

"He's going to go to places, that kid," Roy remarked with a twinkle of pride in his eyes. "But he's going to have to fix that temper of his."

"Careful, Sir, someone might think you're getting attached to your subordinate," Riza teased as she began combing her hair.

"Don't we all have some level of attachments to everyone?" Roy turned to her, and his eyes were quickly caught in the movements she made to untangle her long locks.

"I suppose we do, but Edward is a bit of a special case, isn't he? With his age and all." Riza waited for Roy to answer, but the reply never came. She glanced at him in slight confusion. "Roy?"

That got his attention. "Sorry, what?"

"You look a bit unfocused. Is everything alright?"

"Oh, it's fine, all fine," Roy replied quickly, a bit too fast.

Riza stared at him for a bit. Then, she smiled in amusement. Still combing her hair, she asked, "Is the sight of a woman combing her hair so alien to you?"

Roy shook his head. "No, no… I just didn't realize that your hair had gotten that long. I'm sorry for staring." He averted his eyes from Riza's hair to look at her in the eyes, but Riza could see clearly that he was still stealing glances to her hair.

"It's no problem," Riza dismissed easily.

"Come to think of it, you never let it grow out before," Roy noted. He was back to staring at the hair again, apparently giving up on trying to ignore the distraction.

"I saw Winry's hair and I thought it'd look good on me too," Riza admitted easily. She was still holding her comb.

"Well," Roy reached to take the comb from her hands and proceeded to comb her hair for her, "you're right. I think long hair suits you more."

Riza shifted her position so that they could both feel more comfortable, enjoying the feeling of having her hair combed by someone else. Roy was surprisingly adept at the activity. His gentle fingers pulled on the tangled strands of hair softly and played with the comb so easily. Considering that he grew up with a lot of women, Riza thought it shouldn't be surprising. "It takes more work to maintain, though," she told Roy.

"Why do you need to make it so hard on yourself?" again, Roy untangled a few strands. "I'll gladly help you with this anytime."

Riza couldn't help but smile at that. "Would you do the same to Edward's hair? I've seen him let it down before. Quite the beautiful hair, if I have to say."

"I would, if I could," Roy answered easily. "But I'd like to keep my face, so I think I'll pass."

Riza let loose a small laugh. "It's a good thing I kept my hair short during your apprenticeship. We might not have gotten anything done if this is all we did back then."

Roy chuckled. "Your father would have been really angry."

"With his apprentice not studying and his daughter not doing the chores, leaving everyone in the house with no dinner?" Riza remarked. "It'd be a miracle if he didn't get mad."

Riza could sense the nostalgic smile in Roy's face. "At least his temper wasn't nearly as turbulent as Ed's." He pulled the comb away from Riza's hair at last, apparently already content with his work. He put the comb in Riza's hands. "I think we should rest. Tomorrow will be busy for sure."

Riza agreed immediately, putting the comb back on the table. "Thank you for your help," she said, feeling awkward by her stiff wording, but somehow couldn't make it sound more casual.

"It's no problem," Roy answered calmly. "If anything, I'm glad I could help."

Like the nights before, they laid side by side on the bed they shared. Before, Riza would casually mention the threat of the gun under her pillow, but she had long since stopped doing that. Roy had never breached her personal space even while sleeping, save for some brushes of the fingers during his dreams that he had no control over. Normally, they'd sleep on their backs, perhaps letting their fingers brush ever so slightly, or back to back, feeling the familiar warmth keeping them safe.

Tonight, they slept facing each other, feeling more comfortable and safe, allowing their hands to touch and let one another know that they were still there, secure in each other's presence.

Perhaps, tomorrow, they'd feel as comfortable sharing the bed with one another.

* * *

A/N: whoops. Am I the only one who feels like this chapter has a case of mood whiplash? Sorry.

Now, then. demiace_of_space (AO3) wanted to see Roy and Riza finally realizing about the amount of work Ed puts through his work. (Did I intepret this correctly? Somehow I just thought about what he's gone through and this gets written.) Also betsybugaboo wants to see Roy getting distracted when Riza lets her hair down, or some shameless Royai. I hope this is good enough for you both?

Anyway, reminder that this is your last chance of putting in some requests. Once chapter 16 is up, no more request will be accepted!

So, I guess that's all there is right now. Yes, this is short compared to usual. I shocked myself. Anyway, leave some review, share your thoughts. Hope you have a great day!

*edit: I just realized that there are a few typos that shouldn't have gotten away with editing. That's what I get when trying to edit while half asleep, ugh. There's nothing major though, just a few changes of words.


	16. The Town Festival

Sixteen: The Town Festival

The throng of people moved about in excitement. In every direction, one could see a smiling face, and whenever one turns, you can be sure there would be someone laughing happily in the distance. The whole town was happy, smiling and chattering, enjoying the time of the year in the annual festival the town had.

And then, there was Edward.

"Tell me," he half growled, half groaned, "why are we here?"

"Because the school is being weird and wants us to write a report about the festival," by his side, Ethan answered nonchalantly while munching on a caramel apple.

"I don't see the point," Edward groaned again.

"That makes the two of us," Ethan shrugged, biting a chunk of his caramel apple.

"Why can't I just copy your report anyway?"

"Of course you can't. The teachers can tell. Your reports are always either weirdly elaborate or annoyingly vague and peppered with sarcastic comments."

Edward gave another miserable groan and Ethan laughed. "Don't think too much about the report! You're already here anyway, why not have some fun?"

"Right," Edward replied sarcastically. "Where are the girls anyway? Didn't they say they'd come at four?"

"Oh, you know girls," Ethan waved him off while biting another chunk off his apple. "They need longer time preparing for this kind of thing and all. This festival is a good place to have fun, and girls often want to dress up in this kind of occasion."

"They do?" Edward asked, equal parts confused and incredulous. He simply couldn't understand why anyone would want to do such a thing for such an occasion. Then again, there was never such festivals in Resembool, and there was never an occasion that demanded for anyone to dress up. Besides, Winry never did… as long as he could tell.

Ethan gave a long and loud sigh. "For Heaven's sake, how the heck did you win that girl's heart…"

Edward felt his face heating up, but since he had to endure a lot of such exclamations from Ethan, he had begun to grow used to it. "I don't know, maybe my brains and charms did the work?"

Ethan glared. "I swear, Ed, sometimes you make me feel like punching you."

"Gee, thanks."

Ethan shoved him away playfully, and Edward couldn't help the grin that crept to his face. The two began joking and teasing, and for a while Edward forgot his bad mood. It suddenly occurred to him that the little group of friend he had at school in this mission was probably the only group of friends his own age he'd ever truly get. A pang of guilt climbed to his stomach. How could he afford such luxury when Alphonse was still stuck as an unfeeling armor?

"Ethan, Edward! Sorry to make you wait!"

The sudden call stopped Edward from falling further into the hole of guilt. He turned, and the sight of three girls immediately greeted him.

"Took you long enough," Ethan commented off-handedly.

"Well excuse us for wanting to look pretty," Cara scoffed. "The society apparently has a rule where girls need to look pretty to have even an ounce of worth, while guys can look and act as carelessly as they like and – " cue exaggerated eyeroll" – boys will be boys."

Ethan winced at that. "Okay, sorry, sorry. Forget I ever say anything. What should we do first?"

"What sort of report are we supposed to write again?" Sherry asked to no one in particular.

Immediately, Vera reached into her bag and took out a small notebook. "Mmm… we need to write the basic information about the festival. Also how many stalls are here, what kind of stalls they are. We also need to interview someone and ask about the festival. The process can be done in groups, but the report needs to be done individually."

"Can I copy your report, Ver?"

Vera's answer was surprisingly firm for someone so shy. "No."

Sherry pouted, and Cara grinned proudly. "Come on, let's get the assignment done with so we can all just have fun for the rest of the evening!" she took Sherry's sleeve and dragged her along. "We can just ask someone who helps prepare the festival."

The group of five moved quickly, careful not to get separated from one another. The assignment was done surprisingly quickly. Edward had wanted to just go home, but protests from four separate individuals forced him to stay and hang out with them. It had made Edward a bit moody at first, but in time he began to enjoy his time, and the moodiness was casted aside.

And so they flitted through the crowd, playing games and eating snack, and for a moment Edward felt all his worries melt away. It had been a long time since he had actually relaxed and have fun. Surely there was no harm in doing so.

Suddenly, something bumped into him with the force of a hyperactive overgrown puppy, and he was nearly knocked aside. "Oof!" he couldn't help but exclaim.

At the same time, a voice rambled in panic, "Sorry! Sorry! I'm so sorry! I didn't see you – are you okay?"

Edward had prepared to tear the person's head off, but his voice died when he saw who had ran into him. The kid was no older than ten. He wore a pair of dark trousers and an unbuttoned white shirt, with a t-shirt underneath it. His hair was dirty blond, and his eyes were as blue as the sky. While there was no real similarity between him and another blond boy Edward had known his whole life, the way he stared at him threw him off. At the questioning stare he got from the kid and his friends, Edward swallowed the lump that had formed in his throat and croaked, "I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" the boy asked again. "I'm so sorry, I should've been more careful – "

"It's fine," Edward cut the boy off, voice growing firmer. "Really, it's okay. It's no problem."

"Well… if you say so," the boy backed off, though he still seemed unsure. "Sorry again. And… excuse me." He turned and went away.

Edward followed the boy with his eyes. He pursed his lips, feeling as though someone was clenching his heart. After more observation, the boy was nothing like _him_ , but still. The clothing, the hair color, and the mannerism… it reminded himself too much of little Alphonse to his comfort. Once more, he swallowed the lump in his throat, wondering why he was enjoying such luxury in a town festival while Alphonse was trapped in his suit of armor.

"Ed, seriously, are you okay?" Cara tapped him on the shoulder and he nearly jumped. "Because you don't look good at all."

"It's fine," Edward answered, but his voice was weak. He cursed inwardly. "I'm fine," he reiterated, voice stronger this time.

The other four exchanged glances. "Well, if you say so," Cara finally relented, though from the way she stole glances at the remaining members of their little group Edward could tell that she wasn't wholly convinced.

Sherry turned all of a sudden, looking up to the clock tower that stood at the very center of the town. "Hey, look!" she pointed. "It's almost six already. Let's go to the stage!"

"Wait, really? It's that late already?" Ethan asked, wide eyed, staring up at the clock tower in surprise. "Oh man, come on! We gotta run!"

"Why do we need to run?" Edward asked in confusion, even as he began to jog to keep up with his friends.

"It's almost time! We have to be there if we don't want to miss it!" Ethan answered in a rush.

"Time for what?!"

"The dance, of course!"

Edward had to gape at that one. "Wait, timeout! _The dance_?"

"Yes, the dance!" this time it was Sherry who shouted. "It's the highlight of the whole festival. We can't afford to miss it!"

"I don't follow."

"Oh yeah, I forgot you were new," Cara mumbled. "This is your first festival, after all."

"Every year, together with the festival, many townsfolk will gather to dance at the town square," Vera took the liberty to explain. "You'll dance with practically the whole town."

"Whoa whoa whoa. Back up. I can't dance."

"We'll teach you! Don't worry, it'll be fun! You haven't experienced the town festival if you haven't danced, I tell you," Sherry flashed a grin.

"Okay, since it seems like you don't understand what I mean… _I don't really want to go._ "

There was a collective gasp.

"How could you not?!"

"Edward!"

"But you gotta go!"

"You can't not go!"

"Fine, fine, alright, I'm going with you!" Edward relented at last. "Just stop bombarding me. I'm coming, okay?"

"Atta boy!" Sherry laughed freely. "You'll do fine, I promise!"

"Vera didn't like going at first, too," Cara told him. "She ends up being the most awesome dancer in the whole school."

"I'm not that good!" Vera protested immediately, face flushing. "Many people are better than me."

"Yeah, but you're better than us three combined, so that's got to count," Ethan smirked. Vera's blush deepened.

It didn't take long for them to get to the town square. Somewhere in the corner, a small stage was set, and Edward could hear music wafting in the air from there. Large crowds moved about lazily, simply waiting for the music to start so the dance would begin. However, just when Edward began to think that they might have some time before it started, the music got louder, and he knew immediately that it was going to start.

Edward fidgeted nervously. Fights and brawls he could take, but dances? He had no idea if he could do that. He had never tried it before in his life. Between trying to get Alphonse back and trying to stay alive during dangerous missions, there was no reason to leisurely walk to a festival and dance together with the people. But in this occasion, he had reason to. Of course he did. He was supposed to be a normal teenager, not the youngest State Alchemist in Amestrian history.

"Wait, what kind of dance is this?" it suddenly occurred to Edward that he had no idea what he was getting himself into. Willingly getting himself into dancing was one thing, but not even having a vague description about how he was supposed to move was downright stupid.

"A fun one!" Sherry answered with a grin.

"Not helping," Edward glared.

"Well, there's a lot of spinning, and skipping, and changing partners," Ethan explained with a snicker of his own.

"Changing partners?" Edward repeated with dread.

"We'll make sure you won't get too far from us," Cara assured him. "We know that the first time can seem a bit jarring."

Vera laughed weakly. "I think 'a bit' is an understatement."

"Aw, but you enjoy it anyway, right?" Cara nudged the shy girl. "It's worth it."

"I suppose," Vera smiled. "Then… we should assign partners, I think."

"I'll take Ethan," Sherry swooped and took Ethan's hand immediately.

The boy glared. "I swear I'm going to be angry if you step on my foot on purpose again."

"Then Ed should go with Vera," Cara suggested. "Let the newbie learn from the expert."

"What about you?" Vera asked.

Cara shrugged. "This is the town dance. Someone'll show up."

Before Edward could express any objection about it, the music picked up and people quickly moved to take their position. Not really knowing what to do, Edward simply followed Vera. The throng of people moved like a single unit, each knowing where they should be, and Edward couldn't help but feel like he was intruding, like he was tipping the balance of the otherwise balanced scale, not feeling like he was welcome even though the townsfolk were smiling at him, eager to welcome a new face within their ranks. Edward soon realized that they were moving in accordance to the music, with people tapping their feet every now and then, spinning with the beat, and swaying left and right. To his surprise, Edward found that he was already moving along. He didn't realize that Vera was quietly directing him all the time, lightly pulling and pushing, taking his hands and swinging them. It didn't take long for Edward to find the pattern and started moving on his own.

"You're quick," Vera noted, a slight surprise coloring her tone.

"Really?" Edward asked, also surprised.

"Yes, it usually takes people longer to understand what they need to do. Oh, we're in position already."

It was then that Edward noticed that they all had all made a formation. Circles upon circles, spreading outwards from the very center, occupied the whole town square, like layers upon layers of an onion. Edward and Vera stood face to face at the outermost circle, and he realized that he couldn't see Ethan, Cara, and Sherry anywhere. When he asked Vera about it, she simply told him that they'd see them again during the dance.

The music picked up again, and suddenly Vera moved closer, instructing him to put his hand on her waist while she took his other hand in hers. He followed the instruction immediately, and they began the dance. He let her lead him, as he didn't know the moves, but he noticed immediately that they were breaking the norm of the dance. Every now and then, someone would try to pull one of their hands, and Vera would pull back, stuttering that they were still learning and didn't want to ruin the whole formation. They accepted the answer, though, so Edward wasn't complaining.

Like before, Edward soon found the pattern and could easily match Vera's pace. As he skipped and clapped his hands, he knew immediately why his friends were sure he'd like the dance. It was almost thrilling, the whole process of it all. He had to anticipate Vera's movements, taking her hand and putting his hand on her waist at the right moments, clapping and twirling together with the massive dancing crowd, jumping and shifting ever so slightly to the very center of the layers. A few times, he stepped on Vera's foot, causing her to either gasp or cry out, but she didn't seem to mind too much. Other than Edward's occasional panicked words of apology they never really talked, but Edward was sure they were both enjoying their time. He certainly was, and there was a glimmer in Vera's eyes that only appeared when she talked about her books.

As they moved closer to the center of the circle, stepping ahead and swinging their arms that made the whole layers seemed like waves of a lake, Edward finally located Sherry, Ethan, and Cara. To his surprise, Cara was dancing with the kid that had run into him earlier. It was almost comical, seeing that Cara was taller and clearly clumsier. She repeatedly stepped on the kid's foot, yelling a string of apologies all the while, and Edward couldn't help but feel sorry for the kid. Remembering that he did the same to Vera, he silently berated himself and promised that he would buy Vera a drink later on.

As they moved to the very center of the circle, Edward was pleasantly surprised when he realized that his group, plus the Alphonse-lookalike, had all gathered together and created the circle. Instead of holding onto their partners like they did before, they were holding hands and jumping about, spinning quickly like a tornado, panting as the fatigue started to creep into their bones yet smiling widely.

"Oh, we're going to have to change partners after this," Cara informed.

"Oh thank God," Alphonse-lookalike mumbled, nearly inaudible, and Edward had to suppress a smile that threatened to split his face in two despite the guilt that was still banging his head ever since the kid bumped into him.

"Oh, let me have a go with Ed," Sherry grinned.

"Don't step on his foot on purpose," Ethan warned. Sherry simply laughed, and suddenly Edward feared that he'd meet the same fate as Vera and Alphonse look-alike, and wondered just how bad multiple stomps on his foot would be like.

The violin solo that always hints the time to change lanes sounded again, and they all braced themselves. Then the drum sounded, and they all moved to change partners. As they had planned, Sherry ended up partnered with Edward, while Cara was with Ethan and Vera with Alphonse-lookalike.

"Wait, I'm with Cara?!" Ethan suddenly yelled. "I thought I was gonna end up with – Ed! Ed! Can we exchange partners please?!"

"No, Ed's mine, and I'm Ed's, and we're not parting until the end of the dance!" Sherry's grin was so large, Edward nearly thought she was going to tear her own face in two. Ethan cursed, while Cara laughed apologetically, though her attention was clearly directed at their feet. Edward threw Sherry a questioning look, and she grinned. "Out of us all, Cara's the worst dancer. Merely five minutes without her stepping on her partner's foot pretty much equals the signs of apocalypse."

Edward winced. "And I thought I'd be the worst."

"No, no, you're doing pretty good," Sherry laughed as they held each other's hands and pranced around, stepping their legs forward so they land on the ground next to each other. "Vera's your first partner, after all. And she's probably too kind to do it so I'm going to do it instead!"

"Do what – OW!" Edward yelped aloud when Sherry suddenly stomped on his foot. "Why'd you do that for?!"

"Think of it as the hazing of the dance," Sherry replied lightly as her foot moved forward again, trying to stomp on Edward's once more. He quickly pulled his foot back, and she whistled. "Ooh, nice! You're pretty spry."

"You're enjoying this way too much. You stepped on Ethan's foot too, didn't you?" Edward asked as they hooked their arms together and circled one another.

"Well of course!" Sherry laughed. "There won't be any real damage though, so don't worry. Anyway, you've been stepped on once, so you've pretty much passed."

"Thank goodness for that."

"There might be some more… accidental… incidents later, however."

"… damn."

"But… you're enjoying yourself. Right?" Sherry asked, suddenly looking unsure, as they clapped their hands loudly. At the look Edward gave her, she fumbled, nearly tripping while they danced if Edward didn't immediately balance her. "Well, um. You looked really troubled earlier, so…"

Edward blinked. It suddenly occurred to him that the reason why Ethan, Vera, Cara, and Sherry dragged him to the dance wasn't simply so they could dance together, but also so that he could take his mind off of things. Seeing that the normally carefree Sherry could be so fidgety over a matter of whether he was enjoying himself or not, it seemed that it was the case.

As they circled one another once more, Edward's eyes caught the sight of Vera and the Alphonse look-alike, and for a moment he wasn't simply a boy who looked like Alphonse, but rather Alphonse himself. He gulped, pushing down the guilt he felt, and instead let the image grow stronger in his mind. Soon, Alphonse would be back to normal. Soon he would be flesh and bones with blood rushing through his veins instead of an empty suit of armor with a soul attached in it. He would be normal again. Edward would fulfill his promise. They both would see through this.

The boy and Vera laughed lightly as he tripped a little, and the determination grew stronger. There was no need to feel guilty. It would only hinder him. He would just have to stand up and walk forward. After all, what else could he do? Dwelling on the past wouldn't help anyone.

"Ed?"

Sherry's nervous call snapped him out of it, and he looked at the girl who was still staring at him, waiting for his answer. As they hooked their arms together again, he thought it over, and gave the girl a slight smile.

"Yeah. I'm enjoying myself."

Sherry's face broke into a grin immediately, and her eyes darted down before her feet moved quickly.

"OW! Sherry, stop stepping on my feet!"

* * *

A/N: I have an exam tomorrow and look at what I'm doing instead. Oh Truth, I have really lost all interest in school...

This is for Fire From Above, who wants to see a town festival setting. Also a school dance, but I'm changing it a bit to fit both in one chapter.  
last chance asked if the school have a formal dance. Nope, but the town have a huge dance out.  
Also, a guest wants to see Ed feeling down from seeing someone who looks like Al and have his friends trying to comfort him.

Anyway, while I wasn't really clear on how the dance was done, it was heavily inspired by the kingdom dance sequence of _Tangled_ and the dance moves in _Cinderella_ (2015), the second dance one where Ella and Kit ran away from the ballroom. I'm thinking the music is a bit like kingdom dance's music, too. You should totally see my history, though; full of YouTube videos of folk dances and social dances from the 1800's and dance sequences from movies. Yep, I was Googling them instead of studying. Ah, my grades...

And with this, I officially stop taking requests. There are still lots of them that I haven't done yet and this story might extend to over 30 chapters. I'd rather not add more and end up neglecting them.

Well, hope you enjoyed this. Please leave a review, tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	17. The Couple's Waltz

Seventeen: The Couple's Waltz

There was something familiar about this situation. The dimly lit room, the sound of pen scratching on a paper and the pages of a book being turned, the feeling of needle and thread sewing fabric and buttons together, and the warm feeling spreading in her chest despite the lack of words being exchanged.

Ah. Of course. It was just like back then.

"You know…" Roy's voice broke the silence, "If we were really bakers in the first place this seems like a pretty decent income."

Riza looked over the financial report Roy was writing and hummed in agreement. "It's a shame most of the money will go straight to the country's vaults. Wouldn't hurt to have it in ours."

"Well at least we get some pretty good bonus," Roy sighed in defeat. He put down his pen and closed the book, tucking it away for future use. "In the meantime… would you like to have a look at the town festival?"

"How surprising. You're actually asking me to go there with you?" Riza asked as she cut the thread on the needle and checked on her handicraft. Not bad, not bad at all.

"Why, we have nothing to do anyway," Roy shrugged. "It's not fair if only Edward gets to have fun. Why don't we walk around as well?"

Riza shook her head with a smile and gave a sigh. She stood and put the shirt she was mending down. "Shall we go, then?"

They quickly prepared to go and soon walked out of the house they were occupying. As always, she guarded his back and he led the way. To make it look a bit more natural to the eyes of strangers they were fooling, Riza held Roy's hand gingerly, and he softly grasped hers as if he was holding onto a precious gem.

They reached the festival in time to see that the town dance had already started. Riza had wondered, before, if joining in would be fun, but she was glad she didn't. From outside the circle, she could see all the glory of the dance, of the spreading circle, jumping feet, and clapping hands. She gazed at the dancing crowd, wondering how they could move so easily with such harmony.

Roy nudged her hand and pointed. "Look," he whispered, "one o'clock. Ed's dancing."

Riza followed his finger and pressed her lips together when she felt her laugh beginning to bubble. "That's Sherry, isn't it?"

Roy whistled. "Look at that spin he just pulled. Not half bad… he's going to need more practice, but it's not bad at all."

Riza pressed her lips harder when Edward started yelling at Sherry and she began laughing happily. "She seems like she's having fun teasing Edward."

"Well, this is Edward we're talking about," Roy grinned. "Of course she's having fun."

They watched the young alchemist danced and yelled and desperately saying something to Sherry, probably asking her to stop doing whatever she was doing right then. It seemed like the girl could only behave for thirty seconds at most.

After a while, the dance was finished with a strong clap from each dancer, followed with a bellowing satisfied laughter. Riza watched as many of them started to walk away, while Edward hopped on his automail foot as he clutched his flesh one, following Sherry, most likely to find their friends. They disappeared among the rest of the people, who still hadn't moved away. Just when Riza began to wonder why, her question was answered.

Soft tunes of a violin were played, indicating the beginning of a song. It was slower than before, calmer, and generally more peaceful compared to the rowdier tones of the song accompanying the town dance. The people still clustering in the square started to dance again, pair by pair this time, and some more people joined. Riza listened to the music and recognized the rhythm of waltz immediately.

A hand came to her line of sight and she stared at the owner. Roy was looking at her with a slight smile on his face, sending a silent invitation. It didn't take long for her to contemplate. She took his hand, and they walked to join the throng of people dancing a slow, calm waltz together. His hand clasped hers gently, and his other hand rested on her hip, while hers on his shoulder. They swayed together with the music.

"We've never done this before," Riza noted.

"For the record, I had wanted to ask you to accompany me to a festival, back then," Roy admitted. "Shame I had to study so much and you had to do all the chores."

"Are you sure you weren't just too scared to ask me out?" Riza asked bluntly. Roy gave her a sheepish smile.

"Let this be a way to make up for that time, then," Roy offered after clearing his throat. "Shall we dance more seriously?"

Riza smiled. "You know I'm not that good of a dancer."

"Don't worry, I'll lead you," Roy assured her. And she knew he was capable of doing just that. Growing up with a lot of foster sisters meant he knew how to behave around women and understood much, perhaps even most, of their nature. And she also knew that a few of his sisters loved to dance – which meant not only was he taught how to treat a woman, he was also taught how to become a good dancing partner. She had seen him dance in a bar before, when drunk, leading an equally drunk Hughes in something that looked like a mangled salsa. And from the way he moved, she knew the reason why it looked mangled and therefore hilarious was because he had to lead Hughes, who was both drunk and inexperienced. If he was able to pull such moves while drunk, she wondered how good he was when completely sober.

And so his hand climbed from her hip to her shoulder blade, and she positioned her hand on his shoulder more firmly. The music suddenly sounded much louder in her ears and the sound of people chattering ceased.

"Ready?" he asked.

"Ready," she answered.

Roy started the dance steps, and she quickly followed. She let him lead her through the dance, following his steps with ease and letting him spin and pulling her closer, closer, closer, every time he pulled her to him whenever the spin was completed, and soon they were so close, almost too close, to the point where they could feel each other's warmth while not actually pressing their bodies against each other.

There was no word. They never needed them. Their eyes spoke loud enough for them to understand each other in a language none other understood. And right then, their eyes spoke of how much they enjoyed their time, how much they liked having each other close, how much they wished it could last forever. They kept dancing, spinning and holding their hands close, eyes staring into each other's without care to their surroundings.

 _It's almost like a fairy tale_ , Riza couldn't help but think. A fairy tale where a prince and a princess danced together through the night. If she were wearing a dress and Roy a suit, they would fit the premise of said fairy tale perfectly, though minus the having royal blood part.

Their moves suddenly slowed as Roy began slowing his pace. Riza stared at him questionably as both his hands dropped to her hips and he pulled her slightly closer, swaying together with the music, but it was nothing compared to the waltz they had just performed. Simply to make herself more comfortable, she interlocked her fingers and hung her hands around his neck and stared into his eyes, which studied her closely. His obsidian eyes met her amber ones, then they moved down, studying her lips, unblinking. Then, slowly, he moved his head down, eyes closing ever so slowly.

Riza's heart pounded, and she found herself unable to move, staring at Roy wordlessly. She found herself half expecting the oncoming kiss. Then, at the last moment, the spell broke and she turned away.

Roy straightened up, still swaying together with her. He said nothing, but his eyes questioned a hurt _Why?_

"We can't," Riza shook her head, looking down to avoid meeting his eyes.

"Why?" this time, he voiced the question.

"Fraternization laws," Riza whispered. "It's there for a reason."

"We're not in military setting right now."

"The only reason why we're here in the first place is because of the military, _Sir_." She intentionally used the word to serve as a reminder of their positions. He was still a colonel, deep in his core, and she was his first lieutenant.

"Riza," his voice was soft, "I understand that. I do."

She looked up at him, finally meeting his eyes. To her surprise, she found them to be filled with warmth, and alongside of it was deep pain that came with knowledge and realization.

"Then you must know why we can't," she muttered. In severe cases, penalties for breaking the fraternization rules included forfeiture of pay, dismissal, and confinement. Forfeiture of pay, she could deal with. But dismissal and confinement? It meant being separated from him, and how could she protect him if that were to happen? How could she cope with that?

"I do," Roy answered. "But we're posing as husband and wife. Isn't it normal for couples to kiss?"

She shook her head. "Roy, please understand. No matter the setting we're still Mustang and Hawkeye in the end."

"But right now we're not Mustang and Hawkeye, are we?" he asked back. A soft smile made its way to his face. "Right now we're Roy and Riza. That's the most important thing." Slowly, he bent forward again, but his target weren't her lips this time. She didn't move away, and his kiss landed gently on her forehead, like a shy butterfly softly letting its legs brush the petals of a flower before drifting away.

She stared at him, overly conscious of the warmth on her forehead, before she sighed and let her head thump against his shoulder. "Why do you always take so much risk? This will be our weakness. One day someone will use me against you, at this rate."

"I'm not afraid of that," Roy chuckled, and she felt the laugh vibrating in his chest and climbed up to his upper body, pushing against the cheek she was pressing to his shoulder. "No matter what, you won't be my downfall. After all, you've always protected me all this time. You won't betray me, one way or another."

"Your faith astounds me," Riza commented dryly, pulling her head from Roy's shoulder.

"As your loyalty and concerns for my wellbeing does me," Roy answered easily. "Don't worry, Riza. There is no way I will let my queen be used against me. I'd rather have her backing me up as always."

"You've been playing too much chess with Grandfather, my king," Riza told him, remembering the chess analogy Roy used to refer to his whole team.

Roy simply smirked at her. They continued dancing until the music stopped, and they ended the dance with a bow to each other. As they walked away, a voice called, "Mom, Dad?"

"Ah, Ed," Riza smiled at him and his group of friends. "I figured we'd see each other here somewhere."

"I had no idea you were coming here," Edward mumbled. Then a mischievous glint found its way to his eyes and he spoke, "You know, I saw you two dancing. I didn't know you were good at that!"

"That's what you got from growing up with a lot of sisters," Roy grinned. "Remind me sometime to introduce you to your 'aunts'."

Riza elbowed him lightly. "Wait until he's eighteen at least."

"Um, why do you need to wait until Edward's eighteen to introduce him to a family member?" Cara asked incredulously.

"I'm afraid it's a bit personal, Cara," Riza answered the girl kindly. "Do you still want to hang around here, Ed?"

"No," Edward shook his head. "We were just going to head back, actually."

"Yeah, we've had enough time having fun around here," Ethan added. "Plus, some of us need to treat our feet. Apparently _some people_ can't control theirs enough to avoid stepping on others'." His exclamation was met with a sheepish and apologetic smile from Cara and laughter from Sherry. He glared at the latter one.

"Well, if that's all, should we part ways now?" Roy asked. "Where do you live, kids?"

"A few blocks away from school," Cara answered, "not too far from here. I can walk by myself."

"Mine's near here," Sherry pointed to the clock tower. "Just a few blocks past the tower."

"Mine's a few blocks northeast of the marketplace," Ethan shrugged. "Vera's is in the same direction. Oh, Vera… didn't your father say he wanted to pick you up because he needs to find something around here?"

"He just wanted to have caramel apples," Vera muttered, unamused. She looked up when a faint sound of her name being called was heard. "Ah. He's here."

They all looked at the direction where Vera was looking, and soon a black haired man came to them with a smile across his face. "Hello!" he greeted. "Fancy meeting you all." His eyes glinted when he saw Roy, Riza, and Edward, though he never directly addressed the boy. "Mr. and Mrs. Mason, right? I bought bread at your place one time."

"Ah, yes, Mr. Todd, isn't it?" Roy smiled back. "I remember you."

"Did you get it, Pa?" Vera asked her father.

"No, all the stalls have already run out of caramel apples," Mr. Todd sighed. "Shame. The kind that is sold here is always the best."

They spoke for a few moments after that, trading pleasantries, and soon after they said their goodbyes and went home. Ethan walked together with Vera and her father, Cara and Sherry decided to walk together before splitting up to their respective houses, and Edward of course walked home together with Roy and Riza.

"You know, Ed," Roy spoke up as they walked home, "Riza and I also saw you danced earlier."

Edward stared at him, shocked. "You did?"

"We did," Riza confirmed. "You were good."

"More practice will make you better, and maybe then you can woo that mechanic of yours," Roy nodded calmly.

Edward's face burned. "There's nothing between us, you know that. I only use the notion that she's my girlfriend to ward off stubborn girls."

"Then explain why you're so red right now," Roy grinned cheekily, and Edward looked like he was going to blow up. Before he could, though, Roy added, "But I mean it. Practice will make you better. I can teach you sometime, if you want."

A glint flashed in Edward's golden eyes. "Maybe if you bring me to meet my 'aunts'," he told him. It was a subtle request and Roy knew that. More importantly, Riza knew that.

"No," she declined for Roy immediately.

"What! Why?"

"For one thing, you need to reach a certain age before you can legally enter a bar."

Edward blinked in shock, and his sight moved to Roy once more. "…oh."

Roy simply smirked and dropped the subject.

"By the way…" Edward began, "I did say I saw you two danced, right? I saw you almost kissing too, and how Dad kissed Mom's forehead…" his voice dropped to a whisper. "What about the freaking fraternization law?!"

"True, it is forbidden, actually," Roy told him. "But right now we aren't military personnel, are we? We're a family of three, and Riza and I are husband and wife who handle a bakery."

"Please, I may be stupid when it comes to romantic stuff but I can see that your interaction back then was beyond simple acting," Edward scoffed. His gaze softened as he studied his supposed parents and, after a while, he sighed. "You better be grateful I never cared about rules in the first place. Just… don't get caught. And please don't do anything that might make others uncomfortable."

Roy smiled and him, and Riza told him earnestly, "Thank you." As a response to that, Edward grunted and walked faster, leading them at the front.

Discreetly, her index finger curled and hooked into his.

* * *

A/N: I'm in royai mood. So here's some royai for you. Aside from that, Holy frick, I'm doing this instead of studying despite the fact that I'm in the middle of an exam right now. Goodbye, good grades. We may never see each other again.

Now, while there's no actual request for royai (though I'm pretty sure some of you enjoyed this, since royai is one of the biggest ships in the fandom), Fire From Above _did_ mention wanting to see Ed starting to notice the subtle royai going on. This is more of a _BOOM_ moment instead of _...oh_ moment, but. *ahem*. Well, I just can't picture him not noticing it right off the bat. Ed might be dense with his own feelings but he's pretty perceptive, and Roy and Riza's relationship is so subtly obvious in a way only they can accomplish. I mean, even the freaking Fuhrer noticed. How can someone like Ed, who interacts a lot with them, not notice?

And just for the record... I suspect I'm writing about them dancing because of the loads of _Cinderella_ dancing scenes I've been watching to make the town dance scene in the last chapter. And while writing this I'm also kinda reminded of my other fic, a Cinderella AU one-shot featuring Roy and Riza, _Little Glass Bullet_. Yes, this is somewhat of an ad, but bear with me. Out of all fics I've written _Little Glass Bullet_ is easily my favorite.

Urk, it's probably best if I start studying now. How I hate exams so...

Please leave a review, tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	18. The Other Side

Eighteen: The Other Side

It was just a normal morning… well, as normal a morning for him as can be, anyway. And as far as he could tell, it was a good morning; shining sun, chirping birds, blooming buds, he could recite the whole piece of poetry if he had to.

But it wasn't a good morning if _he_ wasn't there with him.

The sound of coming footsteps shook him out of his reverie and he turned to the source of the voice. There, as usual, stood the familiar figure of the blond man with a cigarette clamped between his lips, smiling his usual friendly smile at him, hand lifted in a wave to greet.

"Hey, Alphonse," Jean Havoc greeted cheerfully. "How was your night?"

"It was fine, Lieutenant," Alphonse answered politely. "Have you delivered the bread for today?"

"I just got back from my rounds, actually," Havoc grinned as he blew a puff of smoke. "Come on, let's go to the HQ. Let's meet up with the others and get today's work done."

"Right," Alphonse nodded, armor making a creaking noise, and both walked to the HQ.

Said HQ was actually a temporary one. At first, the set-up Mason family was to rent an apartment downtown, but then they realized that it didn't fit the profile of other victims and instead rented a small house-slash-bakery. The rest of Mustang's Unit made use of the already rented apartment as their headquarters and rented another apartment near the place for their own housing needs.

Both Fuery and Falman were already there when they went in. Both greeted the newcomers, although it was clear that they just got out of bed. Contrary to Havoc and Breda that preferred to use the other apartment, Fuery and Falman somehow ended up being the permanent residents at the temporary headquarters due to the fact that most of the files on the case were kept there and the fact that they did better with facts and files and communication support than firing bullets in the fields.

As always, Alphonse settled to a corner of the room where he could work on theorems of transmutation or think about the case. Normally, he would sit there quietly and spoke every now and then, commenting on the others' thoughts or giving his own opinions. Lately, he usually kept to himself, thinking more and more about his brother and the case. It was beginning to stretch longer than he had hoped it would. It was starting to wear him down, and he wasn't supposed to feel weary.

"Is there any news about our man?"

"None," Falman answered Havoc's question levelly. "This guy is good. He knows how to avoid being tracked down."

"At least we've narrowed down the location," Fuery sighed as he adjusted the signal of the radio he was tweaking. "No more running around the whole town trying to establish who the guy is."

"That's true, but it's a pain that we still can't get a lead on who this is," Havoc huffed and blew another puff of smoke.

Seeing the behavior, Falman reeled back. "Please don't do that indoors," he muttered irritably and stood up, opening the door to the balcony so that the smell of smoke could disperse. "This is still so early, how are you already smoking?"

"Smoking is an acceptable activity at any time of the day," Havoc grinned as he stepped to the balcony so that the smoke didn't linger indoors. "Well… except when you're doing the do. Most girls don't like it when I have a pack of cigarettes on me when we're getting ready."

Fuery stared. "Wait… Lieutenant, are you saying that you got dates?" he asked in disbelief. "I thought the Colonel snatched all of them before you get to do anything."

"Oomph! You don't need to remind me of that!" Havoc grimaced. "But I got a cute one here! With the boss out of the picture it was great to go at this pace!"

"Congratulations, Lieutenant," Alphonse told him sincerely. "I hope it will go well this time."

"I sure hope so, Alphonse, I sure hope so," Havoc nodded vigorously.

There was a sound of toilet being flushed and soon Breda emerged. Ah, so he had already been here. No wonder Alphonse didn't see him at the other apartment. Though he wondered when he got to the HQ.

"Did I just hear about Havoc getting a girlfriend?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, and she's a real sweetheart!" Havoc cooed immediately. "Oh dear, dear Abby… she's so sweet and nice and – "

"No offense, but you're starting to sound like Lieutenant Colonel Hughes," Breda held up a hand. "We don't need more of his kind."

"You're just miserable you haven't gotten a girl yet!"

"Stop accusing me of something stupid! I'm telling you, we need to focus on the case at hand!" and with the last phrase, he help up a case file he had been holding on all this time to drive the point further.

But instead, Havoc made a face and pulled his head back. "Didn't you just get out of the toilet? And you've been holding to that all the time. Don't tell me you were pooping while reading the file."

"I was, actually," Breda shrugged. "I need something to read anyway, so why not bring this inside?"

"Ew, Breda!"

"What?! It's not like I used it to wipe my ass or anything!"

"Still! Ew!"

"Guys, please," Falman sighed. "You're behaving like children."

"This is why we really need Lieutenant Hawkeye in the office," Fuery muttered, still tuning his radio.

Alphonse couldn't help it. He laughed.

His laugh was met with smiles and grins from the rest of the team. As his laugh receded, he realized that they were all staring at him with something akin of… he didn't really know. Fondness, maybe. And there seemed to be relief too, for some reason.

"Um, did I do something wrong?" he couldn't help but ask.

"No, no, we're just glad that you're cheerful again," Havoc took the cigarette away from his lips and gave a gentle flick. The ash at the edge of the burnt end fell down. "Been a while since we last heard you laugh."

"Uh, really?"

Fuery nodded an affirmative. "It really has been. You've been down for a while."

Realizing that his mood had somehow affected the whole team, guilt quickly ate away at his figurative stomach. "Uh… I'm sorry," Alphonse apologized.

"Hey, there's nothing wrong with feeling a little down," Breda scoffed. "Really, you're not the only one. We all are tired of this case already. We just have to keep pushing until we can finish it."

"Besides, you haven't been seeing the chief, so I'm not surprised," Havoc shrugged.

"Here," Falman said suddenly, handing him a phone receiver. "I'm sure a small hello isn't going to hurt anyone. He should have school but since this is still early I don't think he's already gone."

He could feel his nonexistent eyelids blinking in surprise. "Are you sure it's okay?" he asked, uncertain.

"It should be…" Falman murmured softly.

"It's been a while since you last call him anyway, right?" Havoc quickly piped up.

Although still somewhat uncertain, Alphonse gripped the receiver in his gauntlets gingerly. Only then did he realize he longed for this. He wanted to hear his brother's voice so badly. He wanted to see him, but that wasn't possible at the mean time, so he needed to hear his voice. As much as he was the lid to Edward's spewing, uncontrollable flames and the stop sign for his violent tendencies at times, Edward was his anchor that grounded him, the hand that guided him through their seemingly impossible mission, and the only link he had to keep existing in the living world. Since his blood seal was, after all, made from Edward's blood, it wasn't so much as a stretch that if Ed were to lose his life, Alphonse would, too.

His hands looked still, but really, if he were in his own flesh and blood body he would be trembling.

"I'll connect the call for you," Fuery told him. Next to him, Falman rattled off a string of numbers.

Soon, he could hear the familiar dial tone playing in his ears. For a moment of dreadful hopefulness, nothing happen. Then, there was a click, and from beyond the connection a young voice greeted, "Good morning. Mason residence…"

He shouldn't have been able to feel it but he could almost feel the nonexistent lips turning into a smile, muscles pulled and skin stretched. "Brother…"

* * *

A/N: a short one this time. No 'Mason Family Dynamics' for this one.

I think I read about someone wanting to know what Al and the rest of the team are doing while Ed, Roy, and Riza are away. The problem is I can't remember who and I can't seem to find the request. Raise your hand if that was you!

I wanted to create some familial dynamics in this group. I mean, the whole team functions as this kind of weird family, I think. I hope I managed to capture that. Besides, Havoc and Breda always seems to be similar to bickering brothers to me for some reason, which is why the above convo about bringing the case file into the toilet emerged. I have a headcanon that Havoc is a bit of a clean freak, and while Breda never really cared about that he could easily trigger Havoc's sudden cleanliness tendencies without even trying or wanting to.

Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this even though there is no parental Roy and/or Riza here. Please tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	19. Over Homework

Nineteen: Over Homework

To be completely honest, Roy should have expected it. But still… seeing the sight in front of him, it simply made him feel as though he was dreaming. It was so bizarre that he couldn't help but either question his sanity, or question the boy's sanity.

Edward Elric was sitting on the dining table, surrounded by books and papers that completely concealed the lacquered wood. His right hand busily flipped pages of books that he had opened in front of him, and his left hand wrote quickly with practiced ease. One would think that he was engrossed in an important research regarding Philosopher's Stone… not some school assignment due tomorrow.

"Why is it that you always do your reports half heartedly yet you put so much effort on your homework?" he couldn't help but wonder aloud.

"Because the threat of having to face court martial if I do something wrong is off my neck," Edward replied bluntly.

Roy grimaced. "Is that why you always give me terrible reports to read?"

"Eh, that's one of the reasons," Edward shrugged. "The others include me being lazy and wanting to piss you off. Glad to know it works."

Roy's brow twitched. "Careful, Ed. I may not be able to court martial you here but I can give you some sorts of punishment instead."

"Oh no, dear Daddy is going to punish me for wanting to annoy him!" Edward cried in mock panic. "Curse thee! But honestly, though. I see no point in writing every detail of my mission like that. I'd rather use my time to research."

Roy snorted. "Next time, go directly to my office after you get down from the train if you're not too tired. Give me an oral report. I'll have someone writing everything down for you. And," he added quickly, "I don't want any more coarse language being used in the reports. Spare the typewriter, at least."

Edward smirked as he scribbled something in his paper. "No promises," he said simply.

"What assignment is that, anyway?" Roy asked after a while. He couldn't help the curiosity that began to cling to his mind. "You seem so focused doing it."

"History," Edward answered curtly.

"Yeah, what exactly?"

"Soapman Incident. Fisk."

"Hmmm," Roy stared and read the report Edward had written down, brows knitted in concentration. "Ah. There. You've written a pretty good report, Ed, but that incident wasn't really caused by the sudden demand of soap from Central."

"Eh, really?" Edward blinked and looked up at Roy. "How'd you know that?"

"Military training," Roy answered with a shrug. "Amestrian History was drilled into our heads to the point that we can probably recite it while sleeping."

"Well," Edward took the paper and crumpled it before throwing it to the bin, where it bounced off the rim before falling into the bottom of the bin with a loud _thunk_. "Tell me all about it."

"Tell you all about what?" Riza chose that moment to appear, carrying a few slices of pie that she immediately put on the kitchen counter. "Roy, have you been telling him how to woo girls?"

"I haven't been," Roy answered truthfully, "though he might need it to woo that mechanic of his."

"There's nothing between me and Winry, for heaven's sake," Edward protested with a red face. "This is just about my history assignment. Soapman Incident. I was asking him to tell me about it."

"Oh, that," Riza nodded. "Fisk, wasn't it? February 1799?"

"I think so," Edward confirmed. "The second big battle to ever take place in Amestris, if I remember correctly." He pointed at the slices of pie. "Is that apple pie?"

"Apricot," Riza corrected. "The roots of the incident began taking place in June of 1798, actually."

"What _had_ actually happened?" Edward asked. He eyed the pies again. "Can I have that?"

"That's dessert for tonight's dinner, so no."

"It began when Central began asking for more meat to be delivered to them in June of 1798, actually," Roy began when Edward directed his attention to him. "Fisk was the biggest supplier of meat at that time. They also, incidentally, happen to be the nation's biggest soap producer."

"Wait, how is it that the supplier of meat also is the biggest soap producer?" Edward frowned. "Isn't soap made of – oooh. Caustic soda and animal fat or plant oil. I get it."

"Yes, exactly," Roy nodded. "They took the animal fat directly from the slaughterhouse. While they also used plant oil to manufacture soaps the people in Central preferred ones made using animal fat for some reason. The problem was that in September of 1798 there was a significant rise of demand for meat from Central. Sure, at the time the soap makers could take the fat, but soon the amount of the cattle dwindled and there wasn't enough meat or fat to continue supplying Central with."

"So they stopped supplying?"

"Naturally," Roy stood up to take a glass of water. "It doesn't mean that Central was happy with it."

"What? But shouldn't they understand that the resources weren't infinite?"

Roy tapped his finger against the kitchen counter. "Imagine having to live without soap. That's the condition the people in Central had to live with at that time."

The frown in Edward's forehead deepened. "But that's their own fault, isn't it?"

"That's what the soap makers accused Central of," Roy nodded. "But of course Central doesn't like that, so they demanded that the soap makers were to produce a large amount of soaps no matter how."

"Right, I read about that," Edward's eyes searched on the books he used as reference. "They ended up making low quality soaps, right? And Central wasn't happy with that."

"They also kept ordering for meat, but at that time the cattle were too young to be consumed so Fisk couldn't send those," Riza added. "Central accused Fisk of being lazy, and Fisk protested that Central was too demanding."

"The Fuhrer at that time managed to quench the quarrel, but the relationship between Central and Fisk remained strained," Roy continued. "It kept escalating until in January of 1799, when one of the soap makers, Aidan Price, began retaliating. He convinced the masses to stop supplying soap to Central. He also convinced them that the Fuhrer wasn't fit to lead them. It resulted in the demand from the people in Fisk to be separated from Amestris."

"That's pretty extreme," Edward commented.

"Not really. Those people had been working nonstop for months." Riza looked away. "That's bound to make them feel tired."

"The military at that time tried to quench the citizen's state of unrest but they were unsuccessful," Roy continued. "It went until early February. Aidan Price all but announced his dislike to Amestris by burning the Amestrian national flag. He also threw several items that were associated with the current Fuhrer. This led to the all-out civil war at Fisk that was commonly called Soapman Incident because the whole thing started because of a soap maker."

Edward was silent for a moment before he stated bluntly, "This whole thing is so ridiculous."

Roy nodded in agreement immediately. "Sure is. We had a real good laugh over it in the Academy. Hughes was especially fond of inaccurately reenacting it." He puffed his chest and spoke with a booming voice, "All Fisk people are to give their meat and soap away!" His voice changed to a high pitch tone immediately. "But what will we eat? How do we take a bath?" Then he lowered his voice again. "That's not my problem!"

Edward laughed as soon as Roy first changed his voice. "What the hell was that?!" he asked between chortles. "That's so stupid!"

"That's Hughes for you," Roy shrugged with a mixture of fondness and annoyance in his voice.

"Anyway, how long do you think it will take for you to finish your essay?" Riza asked Edward. "We'll have dinner in a bit. I'd rather we all eat together, but all those book and paper are in the way."

"It shouldn't be too long," Edward immediately reached for his pen. "Wait a bit. I need a bit of time to finish this. Since I already know what I should write, I don't think I'm going to use much time."

"Alright then."

"What do we have for dinner, anyway?"

Riza glanced at the food she had made hours earlier and would soon heat before they ate. She kept the lid tight to made sure that the food inside the pot was still warm as always. "Stew," she finally admitted.

Edward's writing suddenly became series of desperate scrawls, but it was obvious that he didn't care. Stew was more important than a school assignment, apparently.

* * *

A/N: I should probably tell you that an incident called the Soapman Incident _does_ exist in FMA universe. I checked, Falman spoke of it during the time Ed and Al were figuring out about the nationwide transmutation circle in Briggs, when they were in the tunnels with General Armstrong and Buccaneer. However, how the events unfolded was never told. I made everything about it up.

Anyway, this was dragoscilvio's request. Basically, Roy helps Ed with his homework one night and they bond over funny stories from when the colonel was a kid. I have no idea how it became like this instead, I hope you don't mind.

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave a review, tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	20. Closeted Fan

Twenty: Closeted Fan

 _She ran, to the light, to the end of the dark tunnel that seems to be swallowing her whole. She could hear the sound of heavy footsteps behind her, but she was too scared to look back to see. She focused to the light, she had to reach the light._

 _Soon she was out of the tunnel. She thought she saw safe. But then she saw –_

"Stop it! Stop it! Don't say any more!"

Sherry trailed off before she laughed aloud, completely ruining the mood she had built by telling the scary story she had been speaking of. "Oh, come on! How come you're so scared of it? We haven't even gotten to the best part yet!"

"I can't stand ghost stories! Stop talking!" Ethan snapped as he pressed his hands to his ears.

"Oh, so that means you can't stand those stories about the girl who was killed and later haunted her killer? Or about the creaky wooden stairs leading to the basement, in which a big secret is buried? Should I start reading Edmund Allen Poe's story, in which someone finds a corpse in a wall?" Sherry drawled with a grin across her face.

"I told you to shut it!" Ethan pressed his hands to harder. His eyes were shut tight.

"Has he always been like this when it comes to horror stories?" Edward asked Cara, pointing at Ethan.

"Mmm, more or less," Cara shrugged. "We're not sure why exactly he's so scared shitless though. I mean even I'm scared, but it's really intriguing to know the end of the story, you know?"

"I guess," Edward nodded. "And Vera? Is it scary for you?"

"Not at all," Vera shook her head and dove to take a book from her bag. Immediately, _Things That Go Bump In the Night: An Anthology_ landed on her desk. "I've read scarier in this book. I was planning to read some of them to you, too."

"I never pegged you for the type to like this kind of things," Edward remarked in surprise.

"Sherry contaminated her mind with titles of horror novels and all of a sudden she became a fan of horror stories," Cara muttered to her side.

"How about Edward?" Vera asked, voice soft, squirming a little in her seat as though she wasn't fully comfortable with asking Edward a question. "Do horror stories fascinate you, too?"

"Well, they sure are interesting," Edward admitted, "but I don't believe in ghosts, so they don't fascinate me all that much."

"You don't believe in ghosts?" Sherry turned to him at once, stopping her verbal assault at Ethan. He lowered his hands and turned to look at Edward, as well.

"Nope. The dead don't come back," Edward said simply. _I know this for a fact._

"So you don't get scared by that? What about the other things that go bump in the night? The monster under your bed, maybe?"

"Nu-uh. Never believed those."

"What about the mysterious footfalls in the middle of the night?"

"Probably just my mom going to the bathroom."

"What about the crawly things in the basement?"

 _Long limbs, bloody fingers, reaching, panting. Bones that never quite connected in the right way. Body that was too skinny. Twisted, twisted thing not remotely resembling a human. His creation… the product of his sin._ Edward clenched his fists. "As long as I know how they came to be, I'm not afraid."

"So that means there's no need for you to continue the story!" Ethan perked up immediately, although he was obviously desperate. "You only wanted to tell Edward in the first place. He doesn't exactly enjoy it, so why bother?"

Edward glanced at Sherry, who was sending him a gleaming look. He understood her purpose immediately and grinned. "Hold on, Ethan… I never said I didn't enjoy it. In fact, I'm pretty curious about the ending!"

"Wait – what – "

"So, what happens next, Sherry?"

"L-let's talk about something else instead! Isn't the weather nice today?!"

"Well, lesse…"

"What about the food in the cafeteria? I heard they're making potato gratin today!"

"So the girl ran out of the tunnel, right? Well, turns out that it wasn't the best idea, since – "

"Have you people heard about the Fullmetal Alchemist?!"

Edward froze at once.

"Of course we have, it's not like we've been living under a rock!" Sherry protested, horror story forgotten completely. "Youngest State Alchemist ever, right?"

"I heard he was only twelve when he got his certification," Vera remarked, admiration clear in her eyes.

"He's about our age around now, right?" Cara asked. She reached into her bag and pulled out a box of candies, which she popped into her mouth right away. She offered the candies wordlessly. "I wonder how he got his certification in such a young age."

"Rumor has it that he pointed a spear at the Fuhrer," Cara said with a grin. "That's so bold. I _like_ that."

"What's the physical description the papers always use again? Blond, braided hair, red coat, automail arm?" Ethan jumped in the conversation at once, not wasting his chance to get away from the scary stories.

"That sounds about right," Cara nodded. She sighed dreamily. "I read that he often helps people in need. Did you know that he revived a mining town by arresting the corrupt government official there?"

"I read the article," Vera smiled softly. "That's very kind of him."

"And kinda stupid, too. If I were him I'd squeeze that government official dry of any money before spitting him to the prison," Sherry shrugged.

"This is why Mr. Locke told you you're not fit to become someone who works for the government," Ethan sighed.

"But the Fullmetal Alchemist isn't like that, is he?" Cara sighed with her hands clasped in front of her chest, looking so adoring that it almost looked like she had the renowned Armstrong roses and sparkles shining in the background. "He's a brave and kind soldier! He's there for the People. He helps people of need and he won't back down until justice is served."

 _Is she even describing me at all?_ despite the slight repulsion at the hero worship, Edward couldn't help but wonder. Because _that_ didn't sound like him at all. He wasn't trying to help the people, or go around fixing their problems. He's got his own to take care of. Until that was taken care of he honestly didn't care all that much about other people, so long as no life was taken or violated in any way.

"Ah yes, I'm sure he really is a great guy," Ethan agreed instantly. "After all, there's no way someone bad could help so many people without taking nothing for return."

"Oh, he asks something to repay his deeds, actually," Cara blinked and sobered. "But, just simply things. Food, someplace to stay in the night, perhaps fabric or some kind of clothing. But it was never something crazy expensive like a diamond or something."

 _Because it won't be equivalent,_ Edward thought, even though no word escaped his lips. He had no idea what he should say. There people was talking about _him_. With him right then and there. _And they had no idea it was me. What should I do?!_

Vera's eyes widened to a comical proportion while Sherry whistled in awe. "That's awfully nice!" Sherry commented. "No wonder so many people like him."

"I'm sure he's a kind gentleman, too," Cara sighed dreamily again, and Edward couldn't help but push himself a bit away from her. "What a perfect guy."

"Hey, hey, don't fantasize too much about someone you barely even know," Ethan scolded. "You don't even know how he looks like for sure! There isn't any single clear photograph of his face. Dude knows how to avoid the cameras. All pictures of him are blurred."

"But some people made some kind of unofficial poll for the most good-looking military personnel some time ago," Cara argued at once. "I mean, sure, he's only got second place. But that's because, as you said it, there's virtually no photograph of him. That's why Colonel Roy Mustang won. But imagine if there's a photograph! Colonel Mustang is good-looking in his own right but if Edward Elric had his photo too he'd have made a real tough opponent for sure."

 _How did that kind of poll even exist?! I'm pretty sure that's a violation to the laws regarding people's privacy or something!_

 _Besides – wait a minute. Did she just say that Dad won because many people didn't know my face? Damn, maybe I should let those pesky reporters get a snap of my face every once in a while, after all._

Sherry laughed, oblivious to Edward's internal monologues. "Oh my God, Cara. You really do like him, don't you?"

"Of course I do!" Cara frowned immediately, as if suggesting that _not_ liking the Fullmetal Alchemist is a great violation of the laws of nature. "I mean, with that kind of valiant personality, and that kindness, and that sort of beautiful, braided golden hair…" she paused.

"Braided golden hair…?" Vera muttered.

"That sounds awfully familiar," Ethan murmured back.

Immediately, all four pairs of eyes fixed themselves of Edward. He froze up immediately and felt his face draining of colors. What if they found out? They couldn't find out! His mission wasn't finished yet, and it would jeopardize everything.

"Oh, I know!" Sherry grinned widely.

No, they couldn't find out, they couldn't, they couldn't –

"You're a closeted Fullmetal fan!"

They couldn't, they coul – _Wait, what?_

"I mean, look at you!" Sherry continued, gesturing wildly at his head, obviously not knowing the incredulity of the situation. "You've got long blond hair, and you braid it. Just like the Fullmetal Alchemist. For what purpose would you want to do that if not to look more like him?"

"Yeah, I can totally see that," Ethan nodded in agreement. "That's what people do when they idolize someone, right? They copy something about that person. And that won't even be hard, since Ed's got blond hair and his name is… well, Edward. Same as the Fullmetal Alchemist. Wouldn't be hard to pull of the look."

"Obviously!" Sherry nodded back. "Just admit it, Ed, you're a closeted fan! Right?"

Edward stared at them each, opening and closing his mouth speechlessly like a stupid fish out of water, seriously wondering what he should be saying. Should he deny it? Should he just go along with it? At long last, he clamped his mouth shut and sighed, looking at his feet, and muttered, "Yeah…"

What else could he do anyway? Even if he denied it Sherry would no doubt interrogate him to no end about the similarities between Edward Mason and Fullmetal Alchemist. And what if they began questioning his identity? What if they found out for real? That would be much more difficult to handle than the shame he was about to feel.

Sherry and Ethan's triumphant 'ha!' was mixed with Cara's 'I'm his fan first' and Vera's cough as she tried to muffle her laugh. Deep down, Edward felt like crying. Saying that he was a fan of himself? It made him sound so vain. So… narcissistic.

"Don't worry, Ed," Ethan said comfortingly as he patted him in the back, "Your secret is safe with us."

Somehow, that made Edward felt like crying even more.

* * *

A/N: Woohoo, I'm on a roll! And I've had more fun writing this than I'm comfortable with admitting. Haha, I just can't help but smile widely while writing the whole thing.

This one is a request from BringingBackSocksWithSandals, who asked for a situation in which someone mentions the Fullmetal Alchemist at school, and that Ed reminded them of him. It's a bit different, but hopefully it's enough to satisfy you.

Anyway, that's the story for today. Please tell me what you think, and hope you have a great day!


	21. False Accusation

Twenty One: False Accusation

The bookshelf stood in front of him. In one hand, it seemed to be beckoning him to come closer and slide a book off, learn, ease the burden of the books it had to carry all the time.

In the other hand, though, it towered over him as though it was mocking him of his height.

Edward huffed. Truly, his feelings about bookshelves were mixed.

"Ed, I'm done with the coach's assignment," Stanley's voice carried over to him. "Should we go to the gym to give him the papers?"

Edward glanced at his own assignment. He only had to write his name on it and then he was done. "Sure," he shrugged. "We've got nothing else to do anyway, right?"

Stanley gave a weak laugh. "You don't have to put it that way, you know…"

Edward simply grinned back as they walked through the school corridors to the gym. They chatted with carefully controlled voice as not to disturb the other students who were studying intently in their classes. To reach the gym they would have to cross the school yard, where most of the sports usually took place. For that day, though, the classes were having indoors practice, so they would have to get inside the gym.

Edward's eyes strayed to the side of the building, where stacks of sandbags towered parallel to the wall. He blinked when he saw a movement behind the stacks of sandbags. He narrowed his eyes. "Hey, Stan," he called quietly, "You go ahead first, okay? There's something I want to check first."

"Huh? O – okay."

With practiced ease, Edward skulked away to behind the sandbags. His trained eyes caught sight of two figures immediately. Their names quickly popped in his mind; Liam and Noah. They hung around Matt a lot, almost as if they were his goons. They didn't realize that he was there, even though they looked around searchingly, yet couldn't find him. They shrugged and snickered, pushing the sandbags forward.

"The hell are you doing?!" Edward snapped at them immediately. They jumped in surprise, but the sandbags were already pushed. They began shifting and swaying before slowly falling.

Edward turned his head to check the trajectory of the sandbags. They fell forward, right to…

Right to Stanley. Who was standing there, dumbly frozen, staring at the looming sandbags as if awaiting his fate.

Edward moved before he even realized what he was doing. He spun on his heels and shot to Stanley as fast as he could, but not fast enough. His body slammed into Stanley's as he pushed the boy forward, managing to avoid the sandbags by a hair's breadth, and he rolled on the ground before pulling himself into a half kneel, half crouch. The sandbags fell to the ground with loud thumps. A tug on his left sleeve, and when he glanced at it he realized in disdain that his sleeve was ripped, and a long line of cut had bled through his skin.

A scream reached his ears, and he turned in panic. To his relief and horror, Stanley was screaming, one of his feet buried beneath the sandbags.

 _At least he's not_ entirely _buried in it_ , a part of him supplied. _Shut up and help him already_ , another part snapped.

Edward began pushing himself forward, mouth opening to call Stanley's name as his pained scream began to die down, when the coach suddenly barged to his line of vision and demanded loudly, "What's going on in here?!"

Before Edward could say anything, Liam pointed at him and yelled, "He did it!"

Noah then added, "Yeah, he pushed the sandbags over!"

"What – I did not!" Edward denied instantly, but the coach's eyes were already on him, scrutinizing him.

"Mr. Mason," he called, voice chilly, "I want you to go meet the principal. If he is unavailable, see the vice principal."

"But I didn't – "

" _Now_ , Mr. Mason."

With a grit of his teeth, Edward complied angrily.

* * *

Edward sat on the hard chair, arms folded and stormy expression in face. In front of him, Ms. Willard sat on her own chair, no doubt much more comfortable than Edward's. By his left, both Liam and Noah sat together with their respective parents, and Stanley's father was also present there.

"Are you sure you don't want to go to the nurse's office, Mr. Mason?" she asked Edward for the umpteenth time. "You are still bleeding."

Edward's eyes landed briefly on his arm before meeting Ms. Willard's gaze once more. "It's fine," he grumbled. "The wound's shallow anyway." Besides, after so many times getting wounded on missions, he had already built his pain tolerance level exponentially.

"Mr. Mason, I still think it would be best that you go and have the wound treated."

Edward shook his head. "I'd rather have this done with as soon as possible."

"Mr. Mason – "

A knock from the door stopped her from continuing. "Come in," she said instead, and soon Roy and Riza came inside. Behind her, came Stanley, walking with the help of a makeshift crutch and his mother's support. Riza's eyes quickly found his bleeding arm and before he knew it she was by his side, pulling at the arm and studying it intently.

"Just _what_ was going on?" Roy demanded instantly. At that moment, he voice was so commanding, and it was clear to anyone who knew that this was Colonel Mustang at work, not the baker, Roy Mason.

Liam wasted no time tattling. "Edward pushed the sandbags near the gym over," he accused, complete with the offensive point of the finger at Edward's face. "They topple over, and Stanley's hurt, now."

"I did _not_ push the sandbags," Edward growled, guttural, angry.

"Alright, stop," Ms. Willard held her hands up, forcing their attention to her. The woman had a way to force people to take her seriously, and her calm and collected façade clearly helped the case. "I want each of you to tell me what happened. One by one," she added when three of all boys present opened their mouths simultaneously.

Liam started recounting his version of the tale together with Noah. Their version, as Edward had suspected, was the same. They revised and strengthened each other's statement, painting how Edward was the obvious villain in the story, how he had pushed the sandbags without mercy and how they were unable to stop him in time. Edward's visage darkened with each word they spoke, and the only thing that prevented him from lashing at them was Riza's hold on him as she bandaged his wounded arm. Every time he tensed at the boys' words Riza would grip his fingers warningly, and he would grit his teeth and forced himself to calm down.

Edward then told his own version; that Liam and Noah pushed the sandbags and how he tried to stop them and ended up trying to save Stanley, but couldn't push him away in time. Riza was still holding his injured arm gingerly, and while he spoke Roy had his hand on his automail shoulder, as if reining his anger physically.

Stanley's version was short. He was too focused on the looming sandbags, too scared and too stunned to move. He remembered Edward pushing him away and him falling only to have his ankle sprained. Really, he was lucky that it was the only extent of his wounds.

"Alright," Ms. Willard sighed. "It's clear that one, if not some, if not _all_ of you are telling a lie. So which one is it?"

"Of course it's Edward!" Noah scoffed instantly, glaring at Edward openly.

As a response to that Edward snarled wordlessly, giving his own glare that was easily many times as piercing as Noah's. The boy started and shrunk immediately, and his mother pulled him into a protective half embrace. "Good grief, control yourself!" she told him at once.

"Perhaps if your son can control himself enough to tell the truth, Ma'am," Roy bit back chilly.

"Are you saying that my son is a liar?!" she barked at once. "How do you know that your son isn't the one who lies?"

"Edward knows better," Roy said simply. And he was right. Not harming civilians had been one of the most important points that had been drilled into the heads of all military-afflicted personnel, Edward included. And even if it hadn't been, Edward wouldn't harm his friends, not unless provoked.

"I think Edward is telling the truth," Stanley spoke quietly. "I mean… he helped me. Why would he do that if he wanted to harm me? Not to mention he got hurt in the process."

Stanley's father stared at him as if he was mad. His mother protested immediately, "Darling, he hurt you."

"He didn't," Stanley shook his head. "He pushed me away. I'm sure of that, at least."

"Alright," Roy sighed. He turned to look at Edward, eyes searching. "Did you do it?"

Edward glowered at once. "I didn't hurt anyone. I thought we cleared that up forever ago."

Roy nodded in satisfaction and turned to Liam and Noah, eyes stormy. "Then you both must have lied. Why did you do that?"

"Now that's out of line," Liam's father snapped instantly. "We can't know for sure if _your son_ is the liar here."

"I wouldn't lie to them," Edward chimed in. "I know better than that."

Liam scoffed. "What, scared of a little grounding?"

Edward's lips curled into a grim smile. "I can assure you that whatever kind of grounding your parents might give you, mine is _way_ worse than that." After all, what could be scarier than court martial?

"That doesn't matter," Liam's mother shook her head. "My son is a good kid with a heart of gold. He wouldn't hurt a fly!"

"All parents say that about their children," Roy easily shook his head.

"I _know_ he wouldn't do that." Liam's mother stubbornly reiterated.

For the first time, Riza made a sound. She sighed, loudly, and somehow the sound was so piercing, as loud as a thunder that came in the quiet before the storm. The people in the room was silent immediately, staring at her, as if wary of what she was about to do.

"I think it is very unlikely that a victim would protect his attacker like this," she spoke calmly, gesturing to Stanley with her hand. "And I don't think Edward had hurt anyone. I know how he reacts whenever someone gets hurt and he thinks it's his fault. This is not how he does that." Her piercing eyes stared straight at both Liam and Noah. "So it must have been you."

"We didn't do anything!" Noah objected immediately.

"Yeah, it was all Edward!" Liam added. "He must've lied. Who knows, maybe he's just jealous of all of us for having our own actual limbs, that freaky part-robot."

Both Riza and Roy fixed their gazes at him.

"Besides, it's probably his own fault, isn't it?" Liam continued. "He never wanted to talk about it even when Matt asked him. I bet he did something stupid that made him lose his leg. Probably killed someone in the process, too."

Edward's hands clenched hard. He could feel heat rising to his back while his flesh fingers felt as though they were drenched in ice water. Anger welled up within him, then terror, and then he wasn't sure what he was feeling any longer because it all swirled into one like a whirlwind, sweeping him into its vortex and shook him up and down without wanting to let go. He realized, then, that he was still as a statue, unable to move. He took a deep breath and tried to still his trembling fingers, eyes trained at Liam, feeling that he should say something even though he didn't know what he should say.

But he didn't need to. As soon as Liam stopped talking, Roy and Riza had gone still, as well. They stood in front of Edward like a tall, strong wall of a fortress, protecting him from any and all attack that came from forward. Their backs were facing Edward, so he didn't know what kind of face they had been wearing, but he was sure they looked terrifying, since Liam gulped aloud and Noah paled. Their respective parents looked like they wanted to say something, but didn't know what they should say. Stanley and his parents simply stared at them, slowly inching back, though they didn't seem as scared as Liam and Noah and their family.

"You must understand," Roy spoke with a deep rumble in his voice that reminded Edward of the sound before an earthquake, "that there are lines that you simply can't cross."

"But – " Liam gulped when he heard his voice, shrill and cracked. He decided to stop talking.

"Mr. Mason, I must tell you that I do not appreciate that you talk to my son that way," Liam's father said with a frown.

"And I must tell you that I don't appreciate _your son_ talking about _my son_ in such manner," Roy snapped back without missing a beat. "The accident that took Edward's leg is something that is very sensitive, not to mention have nothing to do with the case at hand."

"He presented a believable theory, didn't he?" Liam's mother asked back at once. "Jealously is an ugly thing, and it affects all of us. I think it's very likely that he did this out of jealously."

Edward opened his mouth to protest, but then he shut his mouth tight and looked up at Riza's back. She had tensed for a moment, and all of a sudden it was as though the room's temperature had dropped a few degrees.

"It is true that jealousy is ugly, and it affects everyone," Riza spoke chilly, and all of a sudden Edward knew exactly why no one in Mustang's Unit dared disobey her. "But to do something so petty is beneath Edward. He, of all people, knows the value of a human life and knows better than to try to do something this reckless."

"How does someone so young understand – "

"Does it matter how old he is?" Riza cut in mercilessly, and Liam's mother glowered at her. "He is the only one in this room to have lost a limb. The only one in this room to ever have to replace flesh and bones with oil and steel. He has seen death before." Her eyes narrowed and she told their story of how Edward lost his leg. "Do you want to know how he lost his leg? It was a car accident. He was with his grandparents. The three of them were driving together, and a truck slammed into their car. Edward was the only survivor. Tell me how that wouldn't change someone's perspective about a human life."

It was a lie, all lies. But the way Riza told it, it might as well have been the truth. Edward stared at her, surprised that she would go to such length to defend him. A knot at his stomach that he never realized existed since the sandbags fell lessened, slowly but surely.

The room was silent for a moment before Noah looked down at his feet and mumbled softly, "I'm sorry."

For the first time, Ms. Willard asked, "Excuse me?"

"I'm sorry," Noah repeated, louder, as he ducked his head further down. "We pushed the sandbags. We never wanted anyone to get hurt. We just wanted to scare Edward, that's all. Stanley was just collateral damage. We thought that if we ended up scaring him too then it's fine. We never thought someone would actually get hurt."

"Noah…!" Liam nearly whined, clearly feeling betrayed. Noah simply glared at him and shook his head. The message was clear; _just stop_.

Liam seemed to be waging a silent war with himself for a few moment before he grunted. "Fine. We pushed the sandbags, alright? What's the big deal?"

"The big deal, Mr. Wilson, is that you and Mr. Harris hurt someone," Ms. Willard answered immediately, sharp and merciless. "Those sandbags were very heavy, and I'm sure you already know that. They could seriously injure someone. We are lucky that Mr. Lewis got away with only a sprained ankle. It would have been much worse."

Liam looked away uncomfortably.

"You must understand that your actions have consequences," Ms. Willard continued relentlessly. "We will discuss about this more in private," she glared at him. Her words were directed to him as much as they were to Noah and their parents. She then turned to Edward, Roy, Riza, Stanley, and Stanley's parents. "Thank you for coming here. Thank you for your help and cooperation of clearing this up."

"Our pleasure," Roy answered, still with a hint of chill that had colored his voice earlier. With a slight incline of his head, he walked out of the room, and Edward shot to his feet and followed him quickly as Riza strode behind him, like a silent guardian she was.

"Do you still have classes after this?" Roy asked Edward.

"No," Edward answered. "Normally I'd have history after lunch, and then I can go home. But the teacher's absent today so I can go earlier."

"Good," Roy turned to look forward once more. "Let's go home. We need to have that arm of yours looked at."

"Ah… okay." Only then did Edward remember that his arm was injured. He looked down at it. It wasn't bleeding anymore. He took a look at Roy's back, since he was walking in front of him, and turned his head to look at Riza, who was walking behind him and staring ahead with an occasional glances around as if checking for threats. A smile made its way to his face, suddenly finding it funny that his commanding officer and his most trusted subordinate had been defending him as though he were a true family member. The smile soon broke into a small chuckle, and both Roy and Riza stared at him, puzzled.

When the chuckles died, Edward met their eyes. "Thank you," he told them sincerely.

For the first time, their gazes softened, and smiles of their own adorned their faces. "Anytime, Ed," Roy answered with a grin.

* * *

A/N: Okay so. I noticed some reviews that pretty much chalk up to be requests, and... um. I'm really sorry, but I just need to remind you that I don't take requests anymore. I'm really glad that you enjoy this story, but to be completely honest there are a lot of requests that I haven't written yet and I don't want to end up neglecting them. Besides, I don't really like it when I end up writing really, really long stories because I tend to lose focus and get bored and the story end up being really crappy. I don't want that to happen with _Almost_. So... yeah. Sorry about that. _But_. If your request have nightmares, singing, or Rattlebag in action in it, worry not! I have some plans for them in the future chapters. You just gotta be more patient.

Now then. Guest Star asked to see Roy and Riza defending Ed. Harish asked to have Roy and Riza coming to school to deal with a problem Ed got himself tangled to. zerorose wants to see a situation where Ed is falsely accused and Roy and Riza are defending him. To be completely honest I don't feel 100% comfortable with the story but I've already revised it many times. It's not going to get any better, I suppose.

Well, please leave me some reviews to let me know what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	22. Unwanted Invitation

Twenty Two: Unwanted Invitation

For the most part, baking was a lot like alchemy. There are, however, a lot of things to consider that alchemy would normally have eliminated in the process of deconstructing and reconstructing, thus it was, in a way, more difficult than alchemy.

Still, it was interesting to learn, and Edward wouldn't mind learning it.

"Stir the batter," by his side, Riza directed calmly. "But not too much. Just so that everything mixes nicely. If you mix it too much, the muffin won't rise."

"Got it," Edward nodded, using the wooden spoon in his hand to stir the batter of the muffin he was working on.

"You're doing a pretty good job," Roy commented from the other side of the table. He watched Edward with curiosity and amusement.

"Roy, you should torch the sugar on the crème brûlée soon," Riza spoke without even looking at Roy. "Ed, you can stop mixing it now. Put the batter into these molds and put them into the oven. They should be done in around fifteen minutes, at most."

Without uttering a word, Edward began scooping the batter into the molds. His work was done quickly, and he put the batter into the oven and waited for it to bake. Then, it was his turn watching Roy. The man had his transmutation gloves on, staring at the cups of crème brûlée that he was about to torch, eyes calculating and fingers rubbing. Then, calmly, he snapped his fingers controlled flames flickered, quickly melting the vanilla sugar at the top of the cream. Soon, the job was done, and he nodded in satisfaction at his work.

"I never knew you were good at this," Edward commented. "Didn't you burn some white bread the last time you baked?"

Roy winced at that. "I was never a baker in the first place," he muttered. "The only reason why I can make crème brûlée is because the cook at my aunt's place taught me how to. He loves to ask me to torch the cream for him, too."

"Eh, why? Isn't there that small torch people can use to cook?"

"Yeah, apparently there was an accident where a torch blew up on his face and burnt half his eyebrow and moustache. He doesn't like using them anymore."

Edward barked a laugh. Roy grinned in response. He took the cups of crème brûlée and began putting them on display. "Those better be sold out tonight," he muttered.

"Oh, Edward?" Riza called suddenly, and Edward turned to her. "Once the muffin's out and taken care of, can you do us a favor and deliver a birthday cake somewhere?"

Edward groaned. "Do I have to?"

"Roy and I have to watch the shop, so yes."

He sighed. "Fine, but I better get some sort of payment for this."

Riza's brow lifted up. "Will apple pie do?"

"Will you put cinnamon on it?"

"Absolutely."

"Then I'll go."

True to his words, as soon as Riza had tucked away the muffins to be displayed later on after she declared them good enough to be sold, Edward took the box of cake that Roy had prepared for him. "Where do I go?" he asked.

"Here's the address," Roy gave him a piece of paper, on which was written the location where Edward had to go. "It's in the south of the marketplace."

"Okay," Edward took the paper into his hand, staring at the scripted words. "Well then, I'm going."

"Be careful, Ed," Riza called out.

"Don't let anyone run you over, Shrimp," Roy said with a grin.

" _Who are you calling so small, he could be mistaken as a tiny animal in the sea that people could pop into their mouths without effort?!_ "

* * *

Edward heaved a breath when he finally reached his destination. It wasn't far from home, and the cake wasn't heavy by any account, but the loud laughing and chattering from the house indicated a party. The high-pitched voices indicated that it was a girl's. The name on the box of the cake indicated that it was his classmate's party. To be precise, Molly's.

He wasn't thrilled.

Well, it wasn't like he could just go home. Riza would be pissed, for one thing, and he didn't want to see a pissed off Riza. Another was that he couldn't just take the cake away so easily, since it was prepaid and it would mean that he was stealing. The Fullmetal Alchemist, stealing food? He was rich, he didn't have to do that kind of thing!

With a heavy sigh, he knocked at the door and announced, "Delivery from the Mason Bakery…"

It didn't take long before the door was opened, and surprise, surprise, it was Molly herself.

"Ed!" Molly smiled wide, eyes sparkling. "I didn't know you'd be the one delivering the cake."

"I didn't know either," Edward muttered. Truly, if he had known he wouldn't have come. He was never comfortable around Molly.

"Come in, come in," Molly opened the door wide open and pulled him inside. "I'm going to need your help setting the cake. My parents are away and so are my siblings. If I didn't throw a party I'd be home alone! Now I can't be a bad host and leave the guests unattended for too long, can I?"

"Why can't you?" Edward asked back gloomily. The door behind him was already shut. He couldn't run away so easily, especially since Molly was still holding him tightly.

"Oh, Ed, you're so funny," Molly laughed in amusement as she led him to the kitchen. There, she finally let go of Edward's hand and took a large plate and a knife. "Could you put the cake on the plate and bring it to the living room later, please? Just follow the noise! We've prepared smaller plates there."

Edward sighed. "Fine, alright."

"You're the best," Molly winked and sent a kiss to him, which made him cringe. Fortunately – or perhaps unfortunately – the girl didn't see it, as she had already gone through the door, yelling, "The cake will be there in just a minute!"

There were several cheers and clinking of the silverwares, and Edward took it as a sign that he should work soon. Besides, the sooner he could be done with this, the sooner he could go back home. Carefully, he opened the box and tore the bindings so that he could lift the cake by the cardboard plating underneath it and put the whole thing on the large ceramic plate Molly had prepared. He put the knife by the cake, careful not to ruin the icing, before balancing the plate on his hands and heading out to the place where the noise was the most prominent.

" _The cake's here!"_ the loud, high-pitched scream was so unmistakably _hers_ that Edward couldn't help but jump in surprise.

"Sherry?!"

"Oh, hey, Ed," she greeted as she took away the plate of cake in his hands. "I'll take this away, thank you."

"Eh, Ed's the one who brought the cake?" Cara suddenly appeared in front of Edward, staring at him like a curious cat. "I hope you didn't bake the cake. I don't want to get food poisoning." Behind him, Sherry suddenly froze, hand lifted with the knife in her grasp.

"Hey, give me a little more credit!" Edward couldn't help but protest. "Besides, it's not mine. It's mom's handiwork."

"Oh, good," Cara nodded. "Sher, it's all clear! Cut 'em up!"

"Definitely!" Sherry immediately moved again, expertly cutting the cake into even pieces.

Edward looked around. "Every girl in class is here," he noted quietly to himself.

"Well, it's kind of supposed to be an all-girls party, so you're the only guy here," April answered, holding a glass of water for him. He took it and sipped. "Though there are some who didn't come."

"Yeah, Vera can never come to things like this," Molly said with a frown. "Her dad's really overprotective. Hannah's got a family matter to take care of. Penny's granddad is sick and she has to help take care of him. And Lola has to help out in her parents' shop." The frown was wiped off her face as she slapped a smile back on. "But that's not important. You know what we like to talk about here, Ed?"

"Um, no. I wasn't here, so can't possibly know," Edward answered with a straight face.

" _Boys_ , Ed, duh," Molly answered her own question with a roll of the eyes, as though the answer should have been obvious for anyone. "We were ranking the guys in class by attractiveness and boyfriend-worthiness, by the way."

"Ah. That so?" Edward squirmed. He had a bad feeling about this. Putting the glass in his hands down, he spoke, "Um, you know, I should probably go home. My parents are manning the shop and I should help."

"Sure, sure," Molly nodded, but she made no move to show Edward out. "But back to the case at hand. You're actually ranking pretty high in our list."

"Cool," Edward inched to the door. "I _really_ should go home, though. Bye."

"Aw, Ed, you can't just leave," Molly pouted and grabbed Edward's hand, pulling him back into the room.

"This was supposed to be an all-girls party, right?" Edward wriggled his hand free. "I'd rather go."

Molly stubbornly grabbed Edward's hand again and simply proceeded to hug his arm. "You're no fun. Don't leave Molly here…" her voice was so sugary, almost sickly saccharine, that Edward nearly gagged.

"She's not drunk, is she?" he asked April.

"No, Cara confiscated everything that might have alcohol in it," April answered honestly. Edward turned to Cara and stared, wondering why she even bothered. As controlled as she was most of the time, Cara had the same tendency to laugh at others as Sherry. He was sure getting their schoolmates drunk would have been a sight they would enjoy greatly.

"Of course I confiscated them," Cara scoffed, taking a bite of her cake. "Can you even imagine what kind of disaster a Sherry-alcohol combo will be?"

Sherry laughed aloud at that, not even bothering to deny Cara's concerns.

"Not important!" Molly snapped, and Edward's attention was brought back to the girl who might have been a sloth chimera for all he knew. She still hugged at his arm without any means of letting go. If it was any other girl, Edward would probably burn up with embarrassment, but he was more annoyed than anything.

He looked at Molly and sighed. "Let go of me. I've told you, I already have a girlfriend." He could feel heat rising on his cheeks, but he ignored it.

"Doesn't mean you can't have some _fun_ ," Molly grinned. "Come on! It's not like she's here anyway. The bedrooms are vacant."

It took Edward a moment too long to think, before his whole face burned and he jumped back, managing to release himself from Molly. He sputtered and shook his head, never actually managing to string a coherent sentence.

"Molly, really?" April sighed.

Molly rolled her eyes. "Oh come on. I'll let you play around with us."

April's brow shot up. "Now that changes things."

"Can I watch?" from the side, Sherry asked innocently, causing Edward's face to burn even more. Cara slapped her over the head and glared. Sherry pouted at her before saying, "Nevermind. Forget I asked."

"Come on, Ed, it's not like she's here to punish you," Molly prodded again, but her choice of words only caused him to visualize a wrench flying to his face. "I'm sure you're a little… lonely, too."

"No thanks," Edward replied firmly. Molly seemed to be taken aback by the lack of hesitation in his words, and he quickly shook her off. "Really, I have to go now. There are things I need to do." He walked to the door. "See you on Monday."

"See you, Ed," Sherry waved her hand.

"Take care," Cara added.

"But – wait!" Molly's hand made a grab at Edward's again, but he dodged it. "She's not here! Surely you can, um… take care of your needs?"

"We're more than happy to help you," April's brows wiggled suggestively.

Edward's face burned again, but this time it was equal parts embarrassment and indignation. Okay, it was more indignation than anything. He knew that these girls were stubborn, but how many times did he have to refuse their… offer? To what extent did they think that he was a lust-filled teenager? He didn't have the time to take care of that kind of thing. Alphonse took the first priority. " _No thank you_ ," he said again to the two girls, more forcefully this time, and marched out of the room – of the house.

When he got home, Roy and Riza were surprised to see him. "Why is your face so red?" Roy couldn't help but ask.

"I don't want to talk about it," Edward gritted his teeth.

"Was it a girl?" Roy asked with a grin. Edward felt his face heating up again, and he ran up the stairs.

Below, he could hear Roy chuckling. "So he's reached that age already. Seriously, I should teach him the best way to bring a lady home."

He could hear the frown in Riza's voice. "Roy, _no_."

"Why not?"

"Let him focus on his own goal. Besides, you only need to tell him to treat Winry right and that's that."

"Hm. I suppose so."

Edward opened his mouth and let out the scream that he had tried to stifle for so long.

* * *

A/N: ... the hell did I just write. I had no idea how girls are supposed to act around guys when they want to do the do with him. _Help._

Mapple Syrup asked for more flirting scenes, in which the girls flirt with Ed since "she's not here anyway". For the scene at the start, I honestly want to write about Riza teaching Ed how to bake, and in one of the earlier reviews CressidaRene mentioned about how she could picture Roy, as a baker, burns the sugar on a crème brûlée. I just can't get the image out of my mind, so I decided to write it down.

Anyway, that's all for now. Leave me some reviews, tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	23. Argument by the Dumpster

Twenty Three: Argument by the Dumpster

It was a slow weekday, really. Roy and Riza were manning the shop, and Edward was at his bedroom trying to do his homework.

His cursed, _cursed_ homework.

Edward glared at the sheets of paper hatefully. Who even cared how he interpreted _The Midwinter Daydream_? It was a play, it was enjoyable, he couldn't care less about it since he got so many other things to worry about. He crumpled the papers and threw it to the trash can. It landed with a loud, satisfying _clang_.

A knock on his door made him turn. "Yeah?"

The door was opened and Riza came in. "Hey, Ed," she greeted. "I'm just cleaning up the house, and I want to take out the trash. Do you want to throw something away? Other than those in the bin?"

"No, nothing," Edward shook his head. "Let me handle the trash. Shouldn't you be in the bakery with Roy?"

"Dad," Riza corrected. "And no. Today just happens to be a slow day. Roy's downstairs and he can handle the shop on his own. I'll take care of the chores for today."

"I'll do it," Edward automatically offered.

"No, no, you do your homework," Riza shook her head. "Even if this is just for a mission I'd hate to see you get bad grades. It's a disgrace to your own capabilities."

Edward rolled his eyes. "I don't care what people say. I know what I'm capable of."

Riza shook her head. "But still. You should do your best, alright?"

Edward sighed. "Alright."

Riza's face bloomed into a smile and suddenly Edward felt that it was worth having to write a three-page essay about a play he didn't care about. "Okay then. I'll leave you with your work. Should I bring some snack later?"

"That'd be awesome," Edward grinned, mood lifted instantly.

Soon he was sitting at his desk with a plate of cookies by his side, once more reading _The Midwinter Daydream_. He racked his brain, wondering about the symbolism that might be present in the themes and the dialogues, thinking of how he should write everything that he thought into coherent sentences.

After ten minutes of writing a few words, scratching them off, and rewriting words only to scratch them off again, Edward decided that his first essay – which was already two and a half pages long so he would only need to play with his wordings so he could get it longer – was probably his best shot at the assignment. With a sigh, he reached at his desk, trying to locate said essay. His hand touched the wood of his desk instead of the soft surface of a sheet of paper like he thought he would. Surprised, he blinked at checked, only to find that the essay was nowhere to be seen.

Confusion quickly took place, and he began turning and lifting the books and papers on his desk, looking for the essay. His mind traced back what he was doing, wondering where the essay could have been.

Then it clicked. It was in the trash bin.

He jumped to his feet to check the bin, feeling dread slowly curling in his stomach and clenching tightly. When he saw that the bin was empty, he let out a loud curse and dashed out of his room, looking for Riza.

"Mom!" he yelled, looking left and right in the house. When he saw no trace of her in the upper floor, he dashed downstairs. "Mom, you there?"

"What is it?" Riza, who was tidying up the display, asked in surprise. "Do you need anything?"

"The, the trash," Edward panted. "Have you thrown out the trash?"

"Well yes," Riza answered.

"Where is it now?!"

"In the large bins outside."

"Great, thanks," Edward ran outside.

"Wait, Ed!" Riza called again. "Why would you ask about the trash?!"

"I didn't realize I threw out my essay, I need to find it!" Edward answered over his shoulder.

"… he did what?" by Riza's side, Roy asked quietly.

"He threw out his essay," Riza answered stoically.

"How is he even the youngest alchemist in the state?" Roy wondered helplessly.

Edward soon was standing in front of two metal bins. Both had a black plastic bag inside, and while Edward knew one hold his paper along with other dry trash of the house, the other one held things like rotten vegetables, banana peels, chicken bones, and such things. The problem was that he didn't know which had which within in and he really wouldn't want to end up having rotten food on his hand. Deciding to test his luck, he picked a trash bag at random and undid the neat rope Riza had used to tie the bags.

Immediately strong smell of rotten food hit him in the nose, and he had to restrain himself from cursing out loudly. He opened the wrong bag. He hastily tied the bag again, but it was done sloppily, and not as strongly as Riza's handiwork.

He pulled the other bag and undid the rope on it, before he started rummaging into the sheets of paper and cardboard in it. He had to flatten many crumpled papers, but eventually he found the one he was looking for. With a triumphant cry, he held it level to his eyes, wearing a large grin in his face. He folded the papers and shoved them to his pocket before tidying up, shoving the stray papers back into the bag and tying it up again. He stood up to go back to the house, but he accidentally bumped into the other trash can, sending it rolling on the ground with its content spilled. The smell immediately spread.

Edward groaned aloud. With heavy heart, he pulled the can back up before scooping the ungodly things that had spilled out. _Is that leftover dinner from last week?! Ew!_

"Good afternoon! Isn't today a wonderful… what are you doing?"

Edward cursed whatever higher being out there (and that included the freaking _Truth_ , thank you) that had decided that he needed a thorough screwing up today. "Afternoon, Mrs. Rattlebag."

"Why are you scooping up trash with your hands?" Mrs. Rattlebag didn't bother masking the incredulous tone of her voice. "Don't tell me you're looking for food in the trash can?"

Edward froze at once. "What?! No!"

"Poor boy, are you hungry?" pity quickly took place in Mrs. Rattlebag's eyes. "You should check if there is food in your house, not in the trash." Her eyes widened. "Or is there no food in your house?"

Edward honestly couldn't tell if the woman was just pretending to be stupid or really was stupid anymore. He didn't say anything.

"Oh, you poor little thing!" if it was even possible, the pity in Mrs. Rattlebag's eyes intensified tenfold as she took his silence as a yes. "Look at you, starving yourself so much you're rummaging in the trash! You're so thin – someone ought to feed you more. Well, you don't need to worry any more. Come with me, I'll have you fed in just a minute."

The woman pulled him by the arm and Edward pulled back immediately. "Wait, you're wrong!" he tried to explain. "I'm not doing this because I'm starving, I was just – "

"Don't you pull that move against me, young man!" Mrs. Rattlebag's eyes were so intense that Edward couldn't help but shut up. "You need help and you know it. Come now."

"Could you just stop it?!" Edward snapped, even though he couldn't free himself from Mrs. Rattlebag because her hold was too strong. "I don't need your help, okay? It's not like I'm putting my hand in the freaking dumpster because I want to!"

"What's going on here?"

Edward turned. "Oh," he muttered when he saw Riza coming closer. "Mom, can you do me a favor and tell her what exactly is going on here? Because she won't listen to me."

Riza's brows creased. "Well, what do you think is happening here, Mrs. Rattlebag?"

"What do _you_ think?" Mrs. Rattlebag threw back immediately. "This boy is doing something no one should be doing. Are you not feeding him enough?"

"I'm sure I've been feeding him _more_ than enough," Riza's eyes narrowed. "You never even listened to his version of _why_ he's rummaging in the trash like some stray cat, as far as I know." She grabbed Mrs. Rattlebag's hands and wrenched them away from Edward's arms. "Go in," she told him, "clean yourself."

"But the trash is still so messy," Edward protested.

"Then clean it up then go inside," Riza corrected herself. "Tie the ropes properly this time. You didn't do it tight enough before."

"Right, sorry," Edward grinned sheepishly. Ignoring Mrs. Rattlebag, he bent and finished scooping the trash back to the bin.

"You're telling your own son to do this?" Mrs. Rattlebag yelled.

"I'm telling him to clean up his mess," Riza answered stoically.

"So it goes back to him not eating enough!" Mrs. Rattlebag concluded, quite wrongly. "Honestly, how is it that he's so hungry that he does such a thing? Is your cooking so bad, he doesn't even want to touch it?"

Riza's eyes blazed dangerously. "Edward's got a surprisingly high standard of food. If it doesn't pass, he wouldn't touch it. He's been inhaling my cooking without problem."

"I'm done, I think I should go inside," Edward piped up as he tightened the rope that tied the plastic bag. Without wasting any time, he ran inside, where he met Roy who was watching the scene being unfolded with interest. "Aren't you going to help her?" he asked the older man.

"Riza's got this," Roy shrugged. "Besides, that woman is too grating. I don't want to end up burning her to crisps."

Edward shrugged and went to the back of the shop, where he knew there was a large sink he could use to clean himself. After a moment of furious scrubbing to wash away the slimy sensation and the horrible stench, he deemed himself clean enough and walked back to see if Mrs. Rattlebag had already gone. To his surprise, she was still there, and her argument with Riza had gotten so intense she was practically shouting. Riza kept her cool, even though Edward could tell that she was angry as well. The biggest surprise, however, was that Roy was there too backing Riza up.

"He is _not_ starving – how many times do we have to tell you?" Roy practically yelled at Mrs. Rattlebag.

"Well look at him! He's thin! Boy his age should be fatter!" Mrs. Rattlebag roared more.

"Thin? He's not thin." Riza frowned.

"But he's so small!"

"Are you calling me short?!" Edward couldn't help it. He marched forward immediately.

"Ed, stop," Riza told him chilly and he stopped in his track. She sighed. "Mrs. Rattlebag. We have told you over and over and _over_ again that Edward is eating enough. He is not malnourished. The only reason why he was doing _this_ ," she motioned to the trash can, "was because of a mishap involving his essay. If we can't convince you of that then I have nothing else I can tell you."

"The nutrition that goes into his body should be your priority!" Mrs. Rattlebag argued. "The way I see it, you either can't cook enough, or can't cook!"

"Oh, she's a great cook alright," for a moment Roy adopted a dreamy look, before his face hardened again. "But that's beside the point. How much Edward eats shouldn't be your concern, it's ours."

"But aren't you – "

" _Mrs. Rattlebag_ ," Riza hissed. "Don't you have anything important to do other than picking fights with your neighbors?"

Mrs. Rattlebag pursed her lips. "Fine, I'm going away," she finally said. "But you better know that I won't stay silent if this continues on." She turned and walked away without looking back.

Riza's lips quirked into an almost unnoticeable smile. If Mrs. Rattlebag was planning to have the military clean up this mess, she had a big surprise waiting for her.

"Should we get inside too?" Roy asked, somewhat innocently.

"Yes, let's go in," Riza sighed and wiped her temple. "Roy, could you handle dinner for today? I'm a little tired."

"Leave it to me," Roy nodded readily.

"Oh, I should go back to my room first, though," Edward muttered. "My essay needs a rewrite."

"Speaking of which, where's the essay?" Roy asked.

"Here, in my pocket," Edward patted his pants pocket, feeling the stiffness of folded paper in it. "I shouldn't take too long."

"That's good," Roy nodded. "I'll need your help cooking something."

"Alright, just give me a moment then," Edward quickly step onto the stairs to the upper floor and went into his room. He was just glad that he managed to get his papers back. It would have been for nothing if he couldn't find his papers.

He copied the content of the papers quickly, but his hands stopped working when he reached the passage on the second paper. He had only realized that he took the wrong sheet of paper. Instead of the second part of his essay, it was home to various calculations and contemplations about alchemy. He groaned loudly.

Well, at least the first part was still there. But the second part was gone.

Edward didn't hold himself back. He swore up and down loudly.

* * *

A/N: so. This is a bit of a hasty work so I don't 100% guarantee the content. Sorry about this. I've planned to go somewhere tomorrow and I want to post a chapter before I do, since I'll be gone the entire weekend. So... this is the one.

This is for Brenne who asked for a scene where Mrs. Rattlebag saw Ed near the trash bin and somehow ended up thinking Roy and Riza hadn't been feeding her enough. Also for supermissrandom, who wants to see Roy and Riza getting into an argument with Mrs. Rattlebag about Ed. This is more Riza centric though.

Anyway, sorry again if you feel that the story quality isn't so good. Leave me a review. Tell me what you think.


	24. Ripped Buttons

Twenty Four: Ripped Buttons

If she was to be completely honest, Riza had been doing household chores for as long as she could remember. Or, at least, since her mother's death, which was forever ago.

She had taken care of the silent meals in Hawkeye household when she was just together with her father. She took care of the house, the laundry, the much needed mends in their clothes for years. She was at first irritated when Roy had moved in as he started his apprenticeship, as he only added to her workload, but soon he was a part that she couldn't live without, the much appreciated smiles and laughs and chats in her otherwise dull life. It didn't change even when she entered the military – the only change was that there was the cafeteria for her and she didn't need to cook any longer – and she expected that it wouldn't change for the rest of her life.

So it had been a pleasant surprise when Edward decided that he would be in charge of the chores when Riza was too tired. Even more so when Roy decided the same, if only as a form of competition with the boy.

What surprised her the most, however, was how Edward seemed to enjoy watching her do such works so much, even more so when she was baking. He always wore a thoughtful expression in his face whenever he did, as though he was trying to solve a puzzle that was the dough she was kneading. It was surprisingly endearing, in its own way.

"So after you knead the dough, you'll leave it for a whole night here?" Edward asked with creased brows.

"Yes, so the dough will rise and ferment," Riza explained. "The more it ferments the tastier the bread will be. But I'm still experimenting with this recipe so I don't think we will sell this anytime soon."

Edward nodded slowly. "So… tomorrow morning the dough should be bigger already?"

"In theory, yes."

Edward hummed as he stared at how Riza's hands were kneading at the dough to mix the flour-egg-yeast mixture evenly, most likely wondering about the chemical process which took place in the dough.

As Riza put the dough in oiled container that she quickly wrapped in plastic, Edward asked again, "Hey, why do people often bake bread in certain temperature and wait for such a long time for it to be done? Theoretically, if you increase the temperature and decrease the time it should be done just as well, right?"

"Theoretically, yes, but the dough needs time to bake perfectly," Riza explained as she rinsed her hands clean. "If you simply increase the temperature and decrease the time, you'll end up having bread that is practically charcoal outside and dough inside."

"Oh," Edward blinked. "Right. I didn't think about that."

"You've never really baked before, have you, Ed?" Riza asked.

Edward shook his head. "Well, no. Mom used to buy them from the bakery in Resembool. I don't think she liked baking all that much."

There was a moment of confusion for Riza because _Aren't I your mom?_ but then it occurred to her that Edward was referring to Trisha Elric.

"I mean she cooked a lot," Edward continued, oblivious of Riza's confusion. "And her cooking was real good, too. We picked most of the herbs and vegetables she used from our own garden. I guess that's why Mom's stew is just the best – all the ingredients are fresh, and she knows just how much herbs she should use."

Even knowing just how stupid it was, Riza felt a pang of jealousy in her chest. She immediately scolded herself internally, though she controlled her expression so that it didn't show. She knew right from the start just how much Edward – and Alphonse – loved their mother. Enough to break the taboos of alchemy and try to bring her back, even though it would cost them more than they could afford… and enough to elicit them so much pain whenever they were reminded of her.

"And she knew that stew is the only way for her if she wants me to drink milk," Edward huffed a laugh, looking down. "So she cooked it a lot. And she's pretty great at other things too. I mean, she managed to keep Al and I in line when we wanted to study alchemy so much… that's got to take some skills. And she was really kind, and patient, and while she didn't do it a lot she sang really nicely…" He went quiet.

Riza stared at him for a moment before she tapped his shoulder. He jumped, and she frowned.

"Come on up," she told him. "Bedtime's soon."

"Yeah," he answered, voice rough. "Yeah, let's go."

Edward walked in front of her, and she couldn't help but stare at that small back, that small set of shoulders, pondering about the weight of the burden the young boy carried on his small physique. She watched at how the collar of his shirt seemed to be too big for his neck, almost like a loose noose, and shuddered internally despite herself.

They walked up the stairs to the second floor and he opened the door leading to the living room. He was just a step past the door when his shirt tugged against the handle, and the soft noise of threads snapping and a few small objects – plastic, if Riza were to guess correctly – falling to the wooden boards of the floor. Riza could hear Edward starting to swear, only to muffle it halfway.

"Ed?" she called with a frown.

"My shirt's a mess," Edward grumbled. "Almost all the buttons are off. I need to mend it."

"No, let me," Riza put her hands on Edward's shoulders and slid the shirt off in one fluid motion, suddenly feeling that she should do something for the boy, for once. As she started to bend to collect the fallen buttons, Edward followed and worked swiftly to recover them all.

"No, I should do it myself," he refused. "I can do it with alchemy. It will be easy."

"Do you know that my father is an alchemist, too?" Riza popped the question casually, and Edward stared at her in confusion as he shook his head. "He's done that thing, you know. Mending clothes with alchemy. They normally end up in the trash before the end of the year. I'm guessing it's because he keeps using the material of the clothes itself as opposed of adding new materials to patch up the clothes. In the long run, doing it traditionally is a lot easier and cheaper."

Edward stared at the shirt in Riza's hands before shrugging. "Well I guess. Let me sew the buttons, then."

Riza stared into his eyes, one brow raised. "Do you even know how to do it properly?"

Edward blinked. "Um. No. I always used alchemy."

Riza sighed. "What about I do one or two so you can see how it's done, and you do the rest?"

"Alright."

After all the buttons were collected and the box in which Riza kept her needles and thread and such tools were taken out, the two of them settled on the table in the dining room. Riza quickly started sewing, telling Edward patiently how to do it, answering all of his questions of why in stride. Soon, though, they fell into the familiar routine of him staring at her skillful hands as she worked her tasks. In fact, the boy got so engrossed in watching her work that he didn't realize that his shirt was all mended before Riza gave it back to him.

"Needle and thread?" Edward requested.

"It's all done, Ed," Riza pointed out, slightly amused.

"Hey! I said I wanted to do it myself…" Edward protested, half sulking, even as he put on the shirt. He then stared at the table, silent. "I haven't had anyone mending my clothes for so long," he finally spoke up.

"If you had asked in the office, I'd have helped," Riza told him solemnly.

"It feels kind of rude, coming to the office just to ask you to mend my clothes. You're not my maid," Edward rolled his eyes. "I've always done it with alchemy."

Riza was quiet for a while before she asked, "Edward… how long have you been doing everything by yourself?"

Edward frowned. "So long. Since Mom died, it was just Al and me… I mean we do have Winry and Granny Pinako, but they have lives of their own, and we can't just go to them all the time to ask for favors."

Riza stared. "Say," she began, "if Alphonse comes to you asking for help, will you help him?"

"Of course I will," Edward answered with a frown, somewhat indignant.

"And Winry?"

"Yeah, of course," Edward answered with the same indignation, then muttered, "But I'm partly worried she's throw a wrench at my head otherwise."

Riza cracked a small smile. "What about the others in the office? Havoc, Breda, Falman, Fuery?"

"Yeah, I'll help them."

"And Roy and me?"

"Well I might ask for some sort of payment from him, but I'll help."

"Why?"

The last question threw him off guard. "Well…" he fumbled with his words. "Just… just 'cause! I can't just say no, right? Except maybe if they ask me to murder someone or something."

"Do you know that they feel the same way about helping you?"

"Well they – " Edward blinked. "They do?"

Riza couldn't help the helpless smile that overcame her. "People help each other all the time, Ed."

"But… that's not equivalent, right?" Edward asked. "Where's the equivalent exchange? There must be some kind of payment."

Riza sighed. "You alchemists and your equivalent exchange… will you set a price to help someone, Ed?" Before Edward even opened his mouth, she added hastily, "Don't lie. Answer me truthfully."

"I guess… no." Edward scratched his head. "I won't charge them for a favor. That makes me look like a huge jerk…"

"There _are_ free things in the world, Ed," Riza told him gently. "You won't ask Alphonse to give you something in return of your dedication to him. You won't ask to be paid back when you do a small favor to someone. We won't ask something either. Just because someone helps or be helped by others, doesn't mean we have to get something in return."

"Well… I guess that's true," Edward admitted. "I mean I'm still sure it still runs on the principal of equivalent exchange, but I get what you mean… I think."

Riza shook her head. Alchemists. "You should go to bed. It's already late."

Edward glanced at the clock. "I didn't realize it was already this late."

"That's why. You should go to sleep. You still have school tomorrow."

Edward barked a soft laugh and stood up. "Alright, alright…" He headed to the corridor, but he paused midstride and turned back to Riza. "Um," he licked his lips and looked down, not meeting Riza's eyes. "Goodnight," he said at last. "And, uh, thank you. For mending my shirt."

Riza's face contorted into a soft smile. "Anytime, Ed."

Edward finally looked straight into Riza's eyes in some kind of stunned silence, before his own lips quirked into a genuine smile, so unlike the loud grins and mocking smirks he often wore in the office she worked in inside the military HQ, and his eyes sparkled with something that Riza could only describe as pure, the already brilliant gold seemingly shining like the sun.

And all of a sudden Riza understood why Roy hadn't been able to refuse any request Edward made whenever he stared at the older man almost pleadingly.

* * *

A/N: I've been wanting to write this one for so long. There isn't really any Riza-Ed interaction request but hey, I haven't been writing a chapter dedicated for them in such a long time. So... enjoy.

Anyway, I was combing through the requests I've got and I've just realized that at this rate there's a possibility the story will continue on to more than thirty (heck, maybe even 35, 40 even) shorts mixed into one. That's like... a lot.

Oh well. Maybe leave me a review to tell me what you think. Hope you get a great friend.

*edit: so a guest told me in a review that at first I had Riza said "Dinnertime's soon" when telling Ed to go upstairs and later have her said that it was late and Ed should go to sleep... my bad. I changed my mind and chose to use the near bedtime thing but I somehow forgot to change the dinnertime one. Thanks for telling me, dear guest!


	25. Classroom Ordeal

Twenty Five: Classroom Ordeal

Edward was bored.

That was probably obvious from the face he was making, but it didn't feel right if he didn't tell that fact to himself (if only mentally) so he repeated: _Bored. Bored. Boredboredbored._

Honestly, he was an alchemist. And these kids in the room would probably end up having mundane jobs, since they lived in Amestris, which business are all about the land and alchemy and borders and wars. Who would have time to look up and catalogue stars?

Well he understood how to read stars, he had had to use them to get directions too. He knew stars and constellations could be really useful. But really, who would want to point at a star and rattle off its name, distance from earth, and when it was discovered?

Besides, he knew everything the teacher was talking about already. Several of the books in _the bastard_ 's study was about astrology – God knows why he even had them there – and those had helped him and Alphonse greatly in Yock Island (great time. Edward still shuddered at how he actually ate ants to survive.) After he became a State Alchemist, he had read some astrology books to get better understanding of the constellations, and that too had helped him when he and Alphonse were stranded in remote parts of Amestris and needed to get directions, fast.

So, yeah, he quite literally knew more than these basic things the teacher was spouting off at the top of his lungs, to the point that he looked as though he was trying to sing the entirety of a soprano choir.

"And then you have this star, Polaris, which is the brightest known star as of now…"

Edward blinked, all thoughts set aside immediately. Before he could even think about it, he blurted out, "Polaris isn't the brightest star."

The teacher – Mr. Thompson, Edward vaguely recalled – stopped talking, screeching into a halt at once. "Excuse me, Mr… ?"

"Mason, Edward Mason," Edward answered with a roll of the eyes.

"Mr. Mason. Would you care to repeat your statement just now?" Mr. Thompson's eyes were narrowed.

"Uh, the name's Edward Mason?" Edward voiced the answer as a question. A peal of laughter broke, before it was quieted by the teacher's glare.

"No, Mr. Mason, I meant the _earlier_ statement," Mr. Thompson sounded like he was trying to be patient. "The one that you said before you told me your name."

"Oh, that one," Edward nodded, finally understanding the request, and he could see Mr. Thompson's annoyance rose in its scale. "I said that Polaris isn't the brightest star."

"Care to explain, Mr. Mason?" the teacher asked again, and suddenly Edward understood what he was trying to do. He was one of _those_ people. He didn't like to be corrected, so he tried to put Edward down by putting him in the spotlight and try to embarrass him, to see if he would say the wrong thing and pick him apart using that one point.

Well, Edward wouldn't let him be put down so easily.

"Sirius is brighter," Edward began simply, wanting to see what kind of reaction Mr. Thompson would give. "But it's further away, so Polaris appears to be brighter, while it's in fact not."

"That's not detailed enough, Mr. Mason. It's almost as if you're trying to bluff your way out of this!"

 _What the…? Oh, you're gonna regret this, Mister_. Edward's antennae twitched and information about the stars he had read before flooded into his mind, ready to be used as heavy artillery if he so chose. He licked his lips and stared Mr. Mason down, mentally putting together the argument he was about to deliver, eyes blazing in a way that made the teacher tense up at once.

Edward opened his mouth and began. "Polaris is also knows as the North Star or the Pole Star. It's the brightest star of the constellation Ursa Minor. Sirius, in the other hand, is the brightest star in the Earth's night sky, not Polaris. It's a star in the constellation Canis Major. Polaris is almost directly above the north pole, and it's closer to Earth. That's why it appears to be brighter and people always think to look for the brightest star to find their way when they are lost. After all, Polaris' distance to Earth is only about 434 light years away, while Sirius' is about 8.611 light years.

"If we're talking about the magnitude, Sirius surpasses Polaris. Sirius' visual apparent magnitude reaches 1.46, while Polaris' is 1.98. The smaller the number, the brighter the star.

"So, yeah, Sirius is brighter. People seem to always mistake which is brighter, though. It's a common mistake, so it's no surprise that you got it wrong, _Sir_."

It was a thinly veiled insult and he knew it. Better yet, _Mr. Thompson_ knew it. Edward had to keep himself from smirking when he saw the teacher silently bristling, but the effort wasn't good enough. His lips still treacherously pulled themselves up at the edges, forming a smile. So he opted to let it take rein of his face, grinning toothily at the teacher, not one bit afraid that he would make a wrong move.

The class was locked in silence. It was clear that while the students were awed by Edward's apparently better understanding of the space, they were wary of what Mr. Thompson would do. He was known as a sore loser, and would do whatever it took to humiliate the student that dared humiliate him. _Let them taste their own medicine_ , he put it. _Unbelievably immature sore loser_ , students put it.

"You seem very sure of what you know," Mr. Thompson interjected. His eyes blazed behind the glasses that he wore. "Care to give us the source of your… opinion?"

Again with the belittling comment. Edward was starting to feel annoyed with this teacher. "Do you want me to list it alphabetically, or by relevancy? In ascending or descending order?" The mock respect was clear as a large gong in the middle of a small room. Mr. Thompson bristled again, clearly offended, and Edward basked in the sense of victory the small thing brought him.

"Oh, whichever is fine," Mr. Thompson replied, clearly trying hard to rein his temper but failing miserably. His face was all wrinkly and red and his tone was so irritable, it was practically tangible. "In fact, not using any kind of listing method is fine as well. I just want to know your source."

" _Discovered Stars and Their Traits_ by Wilhem Herschel," Edward began without further ado. " _Flames in Space: Stars, Their Characteristics, and Their Brightness_ by Frederich Bessel. _Space and the Charted Stars_ by Williamina Fleming. Also, some of Hypatia's and Nicole-Reine Lepaute's research notes."

"Hypatia's notes are outdated," Mr. Thompson easily shut him down.

"But are the others?" Edward asked immediately, brow rising.

Mr. Thompson gritted his teeth. "Where did you even get to read those books? They aren't common. Most libraries don't even have them."

 _My bastard of a father's private library_. "I dug up some of them in remote parts of the library in East City before I moved here. The rest, I found in my family's old private library."

"Lies. How could a family of bakers have such books?"

"Does it matter? My family's business is ours. It shouldn't be your concern."

"Watch your tongue, young man," Mr. Thompson jabbed his finger at Edward, and he relished in the fact that the teacher clearly had a difficult time keeping his temper in check. "My question stands. How could a mere family of bakers get ahold of such valuable books? You said some of those books, you found in the old private library of yours."

"And my answer remains," Edward shot back immediately. "I don't think my family's lineage should be your concern." If he didn't have so much fun toying with Mr. Thompson's temper, he might have socked the teacher's face right then and there. Who was he to question his (supposed) family's identity?

"Says who it shouldn't be my concern? Such rare books wouldn't end up in just _anyone's_ library. Your family might have done _something_ to get ahold of them."

Anger bubbled in Edward's mind before he could control it. He stood up suddenly, his chair making a scratching noise as the legs clawed against the floor, and took the necessary steps towards the teacher.

He didn't even take three steps when a hand suddenly gripped at his arm – his automail one, he realized, and though there was a slight panic at the thought of being found out the anger won out. He glanced down at the one who grabbed his arm, and to his surprise it was Matt. He was throwing Edward a glare that was universally used in any occasion, and this time it said _Are you crazy? That's a teacher. Don't make a fuss, you're going to throw us all in a problem._

He threw him a glare, right back. _I don't care who that guy is, he's crossed the line._

"Oh, what are you going to do to me, Mr. Mason?" the teacher taunted. "Spout some other facts to my face? Tell me that water changes its volume? That bread is toasted at 150 degrees Celcius? That iron is melted at 3000 degrees Celcius?"

Somehow, the taunt instead calmed Edward down and drew irritation from him, as the facts were mostly wrong. "Actually, water _does_ change its volume. It expands when cooled below and heated above four degrees. Bread is actually perfectly toasted at 154 degrees." His features hardened. "And iron is melted at 1800 degrees, not 3000. Its boiling point is 2.862 degrees. It becomes magnetic at 770 degrees. Please, do your research before you spout nonsense."

A small tug at his sleeve caused him to turn, looking right into Matt's eyes. "How is it that you know so much shit?" he asked, face a mix of awe and confusion. And suddenly it occurred to Edward that he might have spoken too much. A simple baker's son shouldn't know so much about iron.

"Uh, books," he explained lamely. He was briefly reminded of how the boy had antagonized him before and wondered how he could act so civilly now. He glanced back at Mr. Thompson. His face had contorted into an ugly scowl.

"Mr. Mason," Mr. Thompson's voice was laced with poison, "Go to the principal's office."

"Why?"

"Because you misbehaved. Go to the principal's office, _now_."

He wanted to argue, but he was honestly too fed up with the teacher's apparent stupidity and would rather not have to deal with it again. He glared, once, at Mr. Thompson before looking away and pulled his hand from Matt's hold and walked out of the classroom, not once sparing another look at the teacher.

* * *

Edward stared at the piece of paper that detailed his apparently _bad behavior_ in class sullenly and thought about how he had to ask Roy or Riza to sign it. Seriously, he knew that being rude was probably not a desirable trait – Roy's numerous threats of court-martialing him for disrespect told him as much. But at least Roy still kind of deserved being respected (because, well, he never actually got court-martialed, so that had got to count) but Mr. Thompson clearly didn't deserve the respect he demanded.

"Hey," Roy greeted when he got back home. "Anything interesting happened at school?"

Without sparing any word, Edward gave him the sheet of paper in his hand. Roy accepted it with a raised brow and read the content, his face growing more and more serious with each passing second.

"Alright, tell me what happened," he demanded.

"He was talking about stars," Edward began. "But his facts were wrong. I corrected him." And suddenly he was ranting about how the teacher put him down, how the teacher clearly was an immature prick who didn't know how to accept that he was wrong. Roy listened to his rants quietly, eyes flicking to the paper and back to him every now and then. Edward remembered that there was Mr. Thompson's accounts of what had happened written there.

"Well," Roy licked his lips when Edward had finished ranting, "I'd say that I believe you more. I've read the teacher's accounts and I have to say that it's riddled with ridiculous amount of insults for you. No teacher in their right mind will do that."

Edward blinked and stared before going off again. "Right?! I seriously wonder what's going on in his head! He must have knocked his head as a baby or something, that prick."

Roy stared at him in apparent amusement as he took a pen and signed the paper. "In any case, I would rather not have you being tangled up in another problem, _Fullmetal_. Your order is to keep the appearance of a model student."

"No promises," Edward muttered as he took back the signed paper. He glanced at it. The signature still screamed _Roy!_ but it was different from the signatures he saw in his reports in the military. "I might have to deal with ridiculous teachers again."

"At least _try_ to, you ridiculous kid."

Edward simply grinned, and Roy shook his head, muttering about how kids should listen to adults as he shooed Edward away.

* * *

A/N: _finally_. I've wanted to post this for a few days but school got in the way. Also because I've been too focused on the short fics I've made in this short span of time... _Colors_ and _Kisses_. Go check them out!

This chapter is courtesy of a guest who wants to see a situation in which Ed would need to be punished. Another guest mentioned about how Ed was improvising on an assignment and somehow showed that he's a genius - though this is hardly an assignment he needed to work on. Also, Legendarily Quiet wants to see Ed wowing his classmates with his intelligence. I hope this chapter satisfied you all!

The book titles I mentioned up there are all made up. The astronomers' names are real (with a few minor changes for the male ones). I sure hope that I put in the correct info, though, about the stars and toast (yum) and iron.

Well, hope you all enjoyed this! Please leave a review to tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	26. Leaked Secret

Twenty Six: Leaked Secrets

Edward never knew that he would appreciate a day off so much.

For him, days off were just the same as weekends; he never really realized one was upon him because he was too busy with missions or research anyway. But now that he was at school, it was… a godsend.

It was in many ways similar to weekends. The only difference was that it was technically a weekday. But it gave him so much time to breathe, to get away from school that he found really suffocating sometimes. Besides, today was a bit different.

Ethan was coming over.

And he didn't know why, but it felt so exciting to have someone come over just so they could spend some time together. As long as he could remember, the only person Edward knew had ever come over to his house was Winry, and that couldn't really count because later on her house became his second one. And it felt a bit different from the time his usual group came over, too. Maybe because before, it was simply because of necessity, and now Ethan genuinely wanted to spend some time with him?

Plus, he promised to bring Tiny along. That alone was enough of a reason for him to feel cheerful. Not even the rolling grey clouds and the slight soreness creeping to his stumps.

At the moment, he was sitting on the porch, a book on his lap that he had borrowed from the school's library. Stanley had picked it up and told him he might be interested because it was about alchemy, and Vera had vouched for him, claiming that it was one of her all-time favorite. Edward _did_ find it interesting, but it was one of the only fictional books he had ever read so he couldn't really say.

"What time did Ethan say he will come again?" Roy called from the shop.

"Around ten," Edward answered, half his attention absorbed by the book. He didn't read it with his usual intensity partly because of he was excited about Ethan's visit, and partly because he knew there wouldn't be so much he could learn from the book alchemy-wise.

"This is already past ten."

"Well I did say he'd come _around_ ten."

Roy made a noncommittal grunt, and Edward focused on the book on his lap. He had to say that it was interesting. Sure, there was some mistake regarding alchemy, but he wasn't surprised since the author had stated right off the bat that he wasn't alchemist. Besides, he could definitely understand the protagonist's frustration for not being able to find a Philosopher's stone.

A moment passed before he heard his name being called. He looked up and blinked, focusing his eyes to the person that had just called, and smiled. "Hey, Ethan," he greeted the boy that carried a weird-shaped plastic box, in which a calico cat rested. He slipped a bookmark between the pages of the book and left it on the porch as he stood.

"Should I open the cage? Tiny's getting agitated here," Ethan asked. Sure enough, the box began to rattle as distressed meows sounded from inside.

"Sure, let her roam around," Edward shrugged, suppressing a wince when pain spiked at his shoulder. As Ethan bent to put down the cage and let Tiny out, he glanced at the sky in disdain, staring at how the clouds rolled ominously and mixed together. "Hey, what time will you go home later?"

"Probably around three or four," Ethan muttered. Tiny, who had finally been freed from the cage, stretched out her body and started grooming herself. "Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, really," Edward answered. "Just hoping that it will stop raining at that time. Scratch that, I hope it wouldn't rain."

"Huh," Ethan looked up, seemingly surprised. "I hadn't even realized it was getting real cloudy."

"I don't know why, but I'm not surprised."

The two then ended up sitting on the porch while chatting about whatever came to mind as they watched Tiny grooming herself and basically played around on what small little garden in front of the bakery that wasn't really a garden at all considering it only had grass on it. At some point Riza had come out bringing two glasses of chilled lemonade and a few pieces of bread, but they were otherwise undisturbed there, not even by the passing customers. For Edward especially, not even by the pain that creeped into his automail.

"Tiny is an excellent hunter, you know," Ethan grinned at Edward. "Ever since she came the mice population has decreased by a huge margin. The mice must be having a field day now that she's not in the house!"

"You should let me borrow her every now and then, then. She could catch some for my family."

"Not a chance. Unless you're willing to pay for it."

"Ethan, _ouch_. I can't believe you can be this cruel."

"Well it's a cruel world."

Edward chuckled and shook his head, opting instead to watch Tiny again. He couldn't help but wonder just how a State Alchemist ended up spending his free time chatting with his peer again. Alphonse's iron face flashed in his mind and a pang of guilt climbed in his stomach as he began to wish that he could bring Alphonse into the conversation as well. Surely the younger Elric would be happy to have someone to talk to. He sighed and watched Tiny prowling around before she approached the trash can.

"Uh, Ethan?"

"Yeah?"

"You don't let Tiny eat something from the garbage, right?"

"Of course I don't – _for God's sake Tiny_. Get away from there, you cat!"

"Tiny _is_ a cat," Edward pointed unnecessarily, following Ethan as he jumped to his feet and strode to where Tiny was.

" _Not helping, Ed,_ " Ethan hissed, and Edward couldn't help but chuckle.

Edward watched in amusement as Ethan lifted the cat and started scolding her, unaware that the clouds had loomed closer, darker. "Bad cat! I've told you not to get near the dumpster. No treat for you tonight."

Edward laughed again. "She's a _cat_. I don't think she understands you, Ethan."

"Sure she does," Ethan cradled Tiny in his arms. "Cats and dogs are intelligent. They can at least understand when we're angry or upset or sad."

"I can't deny that, but I seriously don't think scolding a cat is going to help."

"Well, it helps _me_. At least I'm not as angry."

Edward burst into laughter at the immature reply.

At the same time, thunder roared overhead and all of a sudden, without any warning whatsoever, rain poured down on them heavily. The laugh that had just escaped Edward's lips turned into a shout, which Ethan quickly echoed. Both immediately ran back into the shop, but they were already drenched by the time they reached the porch.

"I didn't bring a change," Ethan muttered glumly, watching the water drip from his hair to the floor.

"You can borrow my clothes," Edward patted Ethan's shoulder and pointed at Tiny. "And we should dry her. She doesn't look comfortable at all."

"Of course she doesn't," Ethan sighed.

"Let's go upstairs," Edward nudged him urgently. "We wouldn't want to catch a cold."

They left trails of wet footprints and dripped water on their way, but Roy told them not to worry about it and Riza readily ushered them up, quickly bringing some towels for them to dry themselves as Roy wiped the wet floor up. Riza told them to each take a bath to make sure they wouldn't get sick, and at their protest she glared wordlessly. Both boys complied immediately.

"You go in first," Edward told Ethan.

"This is your house, you go first," Ethan shot back immediately.

"No, you go. Dry Tiny too while you're at it. I'll be fine here."

After a little more back and forth argument about who should go first into the bathroom, but in the end Edward won the argument with "Tiny's shivering already, just shut up and go inside!"

"Fine, alright!" Ethan yelled as he stepped into the bathroom. "I really will laugh at you if you end up being sick tomorrow!"

"You do that," Edward shrugged as Ethan closed the door with a reverberating slam. "Oh, Ethan? You should go to my room once you're done! You know where that is, right? I've showed you the last time you and the girls were here."

"Yeah, will do," Ethan answered from inside, his voice muffled by the door. Edward nodded in satisfaction and walked to his room.

He let the door swing close behind him. Feeling uncomfortable with his wet clothes – which had decided to stick to his skin – he began undressing, taking a new set of shirt and pants to wear, then realizing that he hadn't brought Ethan his change of clothes. He decided to take them, but without warning, the door swung open.

"Hey, Ed, I haven't taken a change, can you maybe lend me – " his words stopped at once.

Edward turned, feeling exposed as he only wore his boxers. "Ummm, yeah, sure…"

"Your arm," Ethan breathed, and suddenly Edward's blood ran cold. Feeling safe in the household, he had completely forgotten that Ethan didn't know about his automail arm, shouldn't know, wasn't supposed to know. He could feel his tongue growing heavy, realizing that there was no running away from this.

"I – I'm gonna go finish washing up and everything," Ethan mumbled as he pulled the door close, and Edward's arms went slack by his sides. He dragged himself to his bed, taking the towel he had discarded on his there, and resumed drying his hair with it. When he realized that there wasn't much else to dry, he sat on the bed quietly, the feeling of dread churning in his stomach, knowing that he had no way to escape this. He had to tell Ethan. With the towel on his head, partially overshadowing his face like a hood, he waited.

It didn't take long before Ethan went back, but for Edward it felt far too long. Or perhaps it was really that long? Edward couldn't tell.

Ethan approached him slowly, Tiny in his hands. He sat next to Edward and placed Tiny on the floor, eyes glued on Edward's arm. "I understand now why you always wear long-sleeved shirts and gloves," he commented under his breath.

Edward said nothing.

"Tell me, Ed… why did you keep your arm a secret?"

Edward looked up a bit, letting Ethan see his face. Golden eyes met dark brown, and Ethan's eyes widened.

"Holy – " he clamped his hand to his mouth, pointing at Edward with his other hand. It took him a few moments to calm himself. When he did, he pulled his hand down and spoke, voice trembling. "It was never Edward Mason, was it?"

Edward shook his head. "No."

"It was Elric, wasn't it?"

Edward kept quiet. After a while, he nodded.

"Holy sh – " Ethan clamped his hand to his mouth again, standing up and began pacing back and forth. "I'm classmates with the Fulmetal Alchemist," he mumbled to himself. "I'm friends with the Fullmetal Alchemist." His eyes caught sight of Tiny, who was rubbing her body against Edward's flesh leg. " _I adopted a cat from the Fullmetal Alchemist…_ "

Edward stared at him before muttering softly, "It was supposed to be a secret."

" _I'm in the same room as the Fullmetal Alchemist,_ " Ethan's voice pitch rose, easily three octaves higher than before.

"Ethan, goddammit," Edward snapped. "I'm still me! Will you stop freaking out already?!"

That seemed to calm Ethan a bit. "Right, sorry," he sighed and plopped down next to Edward again. Awkward silence stretched between them before Ethan spoke up, "Um. Why are you here?"

Edward sighed. "I'm undercover," he explained. "I'm here to investigate that case about someone killing a family of three. Kind of like a bait, really."

"Wait, so. Your parents?"

"Military, too. Roy Mustang and Riza Hawkeye."

Ethan snapped his fingers, almost in vengeance. "I _knew_ he looked familiar! I should've known."

"Why didn't you realize?" Edward asked, curiosity rising.

"I dunno, he has a reputation as a womanizer, you know?" Ethan shrugged sheepishly. "I just… I wouldn't expect him to be a married man."

"Heh, you don't even know," Edward snorted. Then he turned serious once more. "Uh, Ethan… this was supposed to be a secret. If word gets out about this, the whole mission will be jeopardized. We wouldn't want the killer to flee. So, maybe… can you keep this a secret?"

Ethan frowned. "Of course I'll keep this a secret. I want that killer caught, too." His eyes glinted. "Of course, I'm willing to do so for some price. Tell me some stories about the Flame Alchemist. Any funny story?"

Edward's blood had run cold again when he heard the word _price_ , but when he realized that Ethan had basically told him to be a story-teller, he blinked in confusion. "You're willing to keep this a secret," he reiterated, "for stories?"

"Hey, people probably won't believe me if I tattle anyway. But I've always wondered if the Flame Alchemist really is as cool as the stories tell." Ethan grinned, bouncing on his toes. It was clear that he was still giddy that Edward really was Fullmetal. "So. Start telling."

Edward kept staring for a bit before he started chuckling. "Alright," he relented at last. "There's this one time…"

And suddenly they were chatting again, trading stories back and forth. Edward finally pulled the towel off his head, and Ethan took Tiny to his lap. The rain was still pouring outside, but they weren't concerned with it. Just like that, time passed quickly, and all of a sudden Ethan groaned, realizing that he had to go home already.

"It's still raining, and I don't have an umbrella with me," he stated glumly.

"We can lend you one," Edward rolled his eyes. "It's not like we will let you go home just like that in the rain." They walked downstairs, Tiny already in the cage Ethan held securely in his hands. "We're not that evil."

When they got downstairs, they saw that a familiar face – Vera's father – was in the bakery. Roy and Riza were there, staring at the fourth figure with something akin of annoyance in their faces, which wasn't surprising considering that the fourth figure was Mrs. Rattlebag.

"Cute little family, these Masons," she commented to Vera's father, who listened with more intensity than Edward thought was possible. The man must have been really patient, bless him. "A bit secretive at times, but cute nonetheless…"

"Oh, Ethan," Roy spoke up a bit too loudly when he noticed the boy, clearly desperate to leave the conversation with Mrs. Rattlebag. "Leaving already?"

"Yeah, I promised my parents not to go back too late," Ethan explained. "Can I maybe borrow an umbrella? I don't want to get wet again."

"Oh, I have the solution for that," Vera's father piped up. "Your place is northeast of the marketplace, right? We're practically neighbors. My umbrella is wide enough to keep us both dry."

"Really? That's great!" Ethan grinned. "Thank you so much. I'm so glad I don't have to get wet again."

"Well, it sounds like you should go home soon, so maybe you'd like to go now?"

"Yes, please. Really, thank you so much." Ethan turned to Edward and his supposed family. "Thanks a lot, Ed. See you tomorrow."

"Yeah, see you."

Ethan then directed his gaze to Roy and Riza, his eyes lingering on them both a bit longer than necessary. He then smiled. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Mason. See you soon."

"Well, I suppose I should go back now, as well," Mrs. Rattlebag sighed. "Good day."

Edward, Roy, and Riza watched as the three – plus Tiny in her cage – braved the rain and walked away, waving a little. After a while, Roy wondered aloud, "Why did Ethan stare like that?"

"Uh…" Edward coughed awkwardly. "He… kinda sorta knows?"

It took Roy and Riza a moment before the implication sank. Then their eyes went wide and both yelled, " _What?_ "

* * *

A/N: first off, I know this has been a really long time since I last updated. I'm sorry. I blame school. Second off, I sincerely apologize but it could be another two weeks at least before I can upload the next chapter. Exams is upon me, you see, and as much as I want to run away from it there is no escaping it.

Also, another reason why this is so late is because I've been working on another story. Does any of you play a music game called _Cytus_? I'm writing my take on _Cytus'_ Chapter K. I wonder where I should share it though.

Anyway, this chapter is courtesy of curligurl0896 who wants to see someone finding out who Ed really is and how they'd react. So... there you go.

Yep, that's pretty much it. Hope you enjoyed this one. Please leave a review, tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	27. Angry Confrontation

Warning: a bit of cussing ahead.

* * *

Twenty Seven: Angry Confrontation

"Aw, shit."

Cara glared at Edward. "Um, language."

"Sorry about that," Edward apologized without any shroud of sincerity in his voice.

"What's wrong? You don't usually suddenly curse without reason," Sherry asked in curiosity.

"Have a headache," Edward muttered. "Must be because I got wet yesterday. In the rain."

Ethan pointed at his nose. "Ha! I've told you, you should've used the bathroom before me."

"If you used the bathroom after me you'd probably be the one with pounding headache right now," Edward scowled at Ethan.

"Well I can't argue with that," Ethan shrugged nonchalantly.

"Besides, it's probably more because I ended up not taking a bath at all," Edward sighed.

"Wait, what?"

Edward gave another sigh. "Something happened," he threw a discreet glance to Ethan, "and my parents basically got pissed. I seriously have no idea how someone could scold someone else for hours on end without running low on the fuel."

"Your mom is crazy scary then," Cara grimaced. "My mom goes for around ten minutes, tops."

Edward blinked and shook his head. "Ah, no, my mom just mostly nodded along at the sidelines. My dad is the nagging one."

"That's… funny," Cara commented with a blink.

Edward shrugged. "They've always been like that." Then he frowned. "Maybe that's why I'm having a headache. He's never nagged that much before." And then he added under his breath, "Not to mention that long. Damn, he nagged me so much I didn't get much sleep. How is he able to do that?"

"Why did he scold you, anyway?" Sherry asked, curiosity clear in her face.

"Something happened. Stupid one, I don't wanna talk about it," Edward muttered quickly. He sent a meaningful glance at Ethan, and the other boy nodded in understanding. There was a spark of amusement in his eyes.

"So, basically, you're having a headache because of… stress?" Cara guessed.

"That sounds about right," Vera muttered. "I read, once, that stress can cause extreme headaches."

That made Edward sputter with laughter. Stress? It was a stupid reason. How could he get stressed from being scolded by Roy? He had handled much worse and those usually never affected him, not physically. Then again, he never really cared about how the older man thought of him before.

When the laughter died, Edward pressed his forehead to his desk. The wood was strangely comforting to his skin. "Ah, damn, I feel like going home and rest. But they'll get mad at me for that, because I'm not supposed to skip school…"

"What about the infirmary?"

"Smells like the dead. I'd rather not go there."

Sherry laughed at Edward's answer. "What kind of excuse is that? That's just so lame."

"Yeah, it's somewhat childish," Cara agreed. "But kinda true, so I can't really argue…"

"But still! That kind of excuse…"

Edward buried his face into his arms. It was fine at first, but his mood grew worse and worse with each passing second. For some reason, hearing his friends talk like that made his head throb. He tried to tune them out, but their voices still pierced through like a hoard of oncoming arrows. And they kept addressing him, which he answered with simple grunts, but they didn't seem to realize that he wanted to be left alone. After a while, he simply couldn't take it any longer, and he snapped.

"Would you just shut up?!" he slammed his hands to his desk. "It's enough – you're not talking about anything important anyway. Just stop!"

His friends stared at him wordlessly, clearly shocked, unsure of how to respond to the burst, perhaps even hurt. And suddenly Edward realized what he had done, and guilt clenched at him immediately, refusing to let go. He groaned aloud and pressed his palms to his eyes, out of steam instantly. "Please don't talk to me. I don't want to act like a jerk but my mood is really bad. Just… let me be for a bit."

"Okay," Ethan spoke after a long while. Edward hefted a sigh of relief at that and nodded.

"… you snapped at your friends. Cause you're having a bad mood?"

What improvement had been made in Edward's mood after Ethan's 'okay' plummeted again when he heard the comment. "Shut it, Matt," he huffed. He had learned to tolerate the guy, especially after the whole incident with the all-knowing (but stupid) science teacher – plus, he never said anything about his automail arm – but sometimes he still felt really irritated with Matt's comments.

Matt grimaced. "Whew. You weren't kidding when you said you had a bad mood."

Edward glared.

"Oh, relax!" Matt shrugged. "It can't be _that_ bad. Your scuffle with your parents. I mean. You may think that your life is the worst because they scold you once or twice, but it's not that bad." He gingerly rubbed his stomach. "I mean, my parents fight all the time. I get caught in the crossfire, like, twice a week. But you don't see me complaining about a hard life."

 _"_ _No… this is wrong! This isn't what we wanted!"_

 _"_ _Brother…!"_

Edward clenched his fists. All those time he spent lying awake pretending to be asleep so that Alphonse wouldn't worry as he desperately tried to escape the nightmare of the night they transmuted their mother flashed in his mind. All those time he spent biting his lip and desperately keeping his tears at bay, because if Alphonse couldn't cry, he couldn't as well. All the days he spent in the automail surgery, the days he spent trying to get used to the new limbs, the times he coughed up blood like Granny Pinako warned. The times he went back to the military barrack battered and bruised from the most recent mission he was sent into. The times he spent in despair, thinking that maybe there was no way to restore Alphonse after all, that all his efforts were futile, that their lives – his brother's life – was doomed because of a sin he committed, he forced Alphonse to commit.

"Hard life?" he spat. By his side, Ethan tensed before shifting forward, closer to him. "You want to talk about hard life?" Edward barked a short, angry laugh. "Don't come to me and talk about a hard life."

Matt lifted a brow. "Dude, we're all teenagers here. None of us can really complain about a hard life. Do _you_ think you have a hard life? Man, that's rich."

"Have you ever gotten involved in an incident that took your limbs?" Edward asked back without missing a beat. "Did you drag a family member down in said incident? Did you have to rely on others just to get by because you can't _fucking walk_ on your own?"

"Ed," Ethan called. His voice held a tone of warning that Edward dismissed easily. "Edward."

"Did you have to get replacements for your missing body parts just so you can get around?" Edward marched on. "Did you have to join the mili – "

" _Edward_ ," the sharp warning in Ethan's hiss, as well as the two hands that held his shoulders gently but warningly, stopped Edward short. "That's enough. I think he got the message." Ethan's piercing eyes met Edward's, and the unspoken message was conveyed in an instant. _You're going to blow your own cover for real, idiot._

Edward let out a shuddering breath and nodded. Ethan lowered his arms and stepped back, giving Edward some space.

Matt help up his hands in surrender. "I'm just saying, we all get our own share of problems," he said, clearly uncomfortable but trying to appear nonchalant. "Complaining won't make it any easier."

"Now listen here, you," Edward growled, anger rising again, ignoring Ethan's warning calls and strode forward, grabbing Matt's upper arm. The other boy winced painfully immediately, and Edward frowned. He wasn't even grabbing him that hard.

Matt pried his hand away. "If I said anything wrong, tell me which is wrong," he challenged. "You're not the only one who got it hard. Others do, too, just in different way."

"Alright, you two, stop now or I'll call a teacher," Cara broke between them and pushed Edward, who was standing, back. "You wouldn't want to get a detention, now, would you?"

"No, I guess not," Matt mused quietly before turning in his seat, facing forward. He leaned his cheek into his hand while the other hand doodled randomly into his notebook, and it was clear that the conversation was over for him.

"Shame, I wouldn't mind seeing them fight," Sherry piped up. At the glare Cara and Ethan sent her, she coughed awkwardly. "But, uh, fighting's bad. Yep. Better not let it happen, yup, yup."

Vera sent her a disapproving stare. Sherry grinned sheepishly before looking down.

"Anyway, whose class are we going to have after this?" Ethan asked, clearly eager to let the moment pass.

"Thompson's," Sherry answered when no one responded.

"Oh yeah, he gave us an assignment, right?" Cara mused. "Something about making an essay about Polaris and Sirius."

"Have you done it, Car?"

"Nope. Like I care about that sore loser. He only didn't want to let go of his grudge to Ed after that time he pointed out that Sirius is brighter, I'm sure."

"Your grades depend on him, Cara."

"… yeah, well…"

Edward moaned quietly as he let his head drop to his arm. Having to deal with the shit teacher after all this ordeal? Today really wasn't his day.

* * *

A/N: uh, so. Long time no see? I'm so sorry I didn't post this earlier. My exam actually ended Thursday last week, but this weekend was pretty busy for me. My sister came home (yay!) because she was to be a bridesmaid in her friend's wedding which my family including me has to attend cause the bride's parents are my parent's friends (nooo) and I somehow managed to catch a cold just as my sis went home this Sunday and have only felt better around this afternoon. I'm alright now, don't worry! But yeah.  
And actually I wrote a little something for the Paranatural fandom that I posted in AO3 this Monday (great webcomic, 10/10 would recommend, guaranteed to make you laugh so hard you cry) because there was an idea for that fic that I just can't leave. But. Um. *awkward cough*

Anyway. This is for Inkspilt (AO3) who asked for Ed not getting enough sleep and ending up acting like a jerk at school. Also, JinkiesCrown who asked to have Ed having a bad day and a kid telling him that his life isn't so bad and Ed... basically just blew up. Hope I did the requests justice. And I'm so sorry it's so short, I can't seem to add more content.

And good news: holiday's coming, so I should have more time to write! Let's hope I can wrap this up this year, because that means I can tackle on more projects. Whoops, that also means plot-heavy chapters are coming your way. Brace yourselves!

I hope you all enjoyed this. Leave me some reviews, tell me what you think! Hope you all have a great day!


	28. And So Another Fell

Twenty Eight: And So Another Fell

The door was wide open.

That was what Jean Havoc first noted when he got to the scene of the crime. The front door was open, as if inviting people to come in and see the horrors that lay inside. And Havoc decided to accept the invitation. He stepped inside tentatively, eyes searching for any sign of intruder, even though he knew the perpetrator was long gone.

With a sinking feeling in his stomach, he went to the living room, where he knew he would be met with the sight of the slaughtered family of three that occupied the house. Just as he had thought, the victims lay there, bare for all to see, drowning in their own blood that had long dried. Their eyes were open in surprise and horror and fear and disbelief, frozen and eternal, like some sort of sick display dolls in museum of murder, made of wax so that everyone could see. Except these were real people and not dolls of wax. These were real people that lost their lives to a sick criminal that Havoc was supposed to catch. He closed his eyes and sighed, regretting another set of life that was gone, cursing the killer in his mind.

The sound of clanking armor drew him out of his thoughts. Alphonse came to him, carrying a calico cat in his arms. "I found her by the doorway," the boy trapped in the armor spoke quietly. "I think it's best if we take care of her for a while, now."

Havoc nodded. "Okay. Let's go outside."

Alphonse nodded in response. It was clear that he was actively refusing to look at the bodies, and Havoc could understand why. Even though he had gone through much, Alphonse was still young, and the sight of the scene of murder must have affected him somehow. They went outside and was met with the sight of three familiar individuals.

"Bro – " Alphonse caught himself before the full word was out. He stared at the golden boy by the gate.

Edward stared back.

Breda, who was looking around outside the house, played the cop immediately. "Sorry, civilians aren't allowed here," he ushered the boy and nodded at Roy and Riza. "Move along, now. You'll see the reports in the newspaper, soon."

"Are they really…?" Edward asked anyway, even though he was unable to complete the sentence.

Breda sighed. "Yeah, kid. Now move along."

Edward looked at Alphonse instead. He then looked down and outstretched his arms. "Can I… can I bring the cat, at least?" he asked, voice soft, hands trembling. "I gave her to him. I think… it's best if I bring her back home."

Alphonse stayed still for a moment before he stepped forward and handed the cat to Edward's hands. The golden boy immediately brought the cat into his embrace, burying his face into the black and white and orange-brown fur and gave a voice that made Havoc certain that he was biting back a sob. Roy placed a hand on his shoulder, but Edward flinched at the touch. The older man pulled his hand back with a soft exhale. He turned to Havoc and nodded, but his eyes demanded details. Havoc nodded back to let him know that he would give requested details in due time.

"Let's go home," Riza spoke softly to Edward, and the boy nodded after a moment. The three walked back to the house they occupied.

"It must be hard for him," Alphonse whispered. "I mean, it's hard for all of us, but for him it's…"

"… personal," Havoc finished for Alphonse. He patted the boy in armor's shoulder as the boy gave a sigh. "Come on, Al. I'll finish up here real quick and we can get back to the HQ."

"… okay."

* * *

Edward sat by his window, Tiny pressed to his chest, feeling the cat purring as he stroked her fur. He kept wondering how he died.

 _The family sat on the couches of their living room, happily chatting as the only child of the family played with their pet cat. The door was unlocked. Someone walked inside, so easily, and just like that, the family's fate was sealed._

No, no, no. Surely they knew the danger or keeping the door unlocked. There was no way they would leave their house so defenseless. Not with the threat of a killer walking around the town, one that targeted a family of three.

 _The family was already fast asleep by the time the intruder came. He – or perhaps she – probably best to use the gender-neutral they – managed to pick the lock and came inside the house. With ease, they made their way to the son's room and used him as a leverage and woke the parents before going down to the living room and proceeded to kill the three._

That didn't sound right, either. He knew that the family didn't have their sleeping garments on. It seemed more like they had just gotten home from somewhere.

 _The car pulled into the driveway and the family got off. They walked in, unaware that someone was tailing them with the stealth of a tiger. Just as the door swung close, the intruder broke in. The family never had a chance._

That sounded most likely, but Edward couldn't know for sure if it happened. No one could, except the killer.

"And you," he whispered softly to Tiny's fur. But Tiny couldn't tell anyone what happened, not unless someone could invent a device that allowed them to understand cat-speech. Tiny purred loudly and rubbed her head to Edward's chin. He sighed and stroked her back, feeling the cat's restlessness bleeding into his own.

His door, which was let open, was knocked. "Edward…" he heard Roy call, and he tensed. He hadn't spoken to the man since he scolded him just three nights before.

Just three nights before? It seemed forever ago.

"Ed, are you okay?" the man asked. It seemed that he, too, felt awkward trying to speak to him. "Riza's cooked lunch. You should eat."

Edward didn't say anything for a moment. "Maybe later," he said softly into Tiny's fur.

"Ed…"

Edward curled into himself, holding Tiny closer to his chest. He wanted to be alone. He knew that it was childish that he kept being angry at Roy for scolding him, after all his concerns were sound. He had blown his cover to Ethan and Roy was angry at that, and Riza agreed to all his arguments. But somehow, the arguments snaked to the times he had been reckless in his past missions, and somehow Roy ended up blaming him for not being careful enough, for never listening. That was how it ended up being so long. That was why he ended up nearly not sleeping at all and woke up with a pounding headache. It was stupid, but that was what happened. And he stubbornly wanted Roy to apologize for making him not have enough sleep, and he refused to speak to him unless absolutely necessary until then.

But right then, as he felt Tiny's fur on his cheek, Edward didn't care about the scuffle. He just wanted to be alone, because he was just so _tired_. Everyone he knew and cared about ended up dead or worse. Was this another kind of sick punishment Truth had prepared for him? Was he, in fact, cursed? Edward didn't know.

"Please leave me alone," Edward whispered, gritting his teeth when he felt heat in his eyes as tears began to collect. He didn't want to cry. He couldn't cry. Shouldn't. _Wouldn't._

"Alright," Roy agreed at last. "I'll tell Riza to keep something for you to eat later." He stood there awkwardly, waiting for Edward's answer, but the boy didn't. When he realized the boy wouldn't say anything, he turned and walked away, leaving the door open still.

Edward buried his face to Tiny's fur and desperately tried to keep the tears at bay. The cat mewled in confusion, but didn't fight the hold. Edward exhaled shakily before taking in a deep breath.

There was a song he knew well. It was a string of melodies that constantly played in his head, the words of poetry that could quell his most furious anger and brought warmth in his chest even when sadness clouded his day. A lullaby that gave him peace in the darkest of his days and seemed to keep the nightmares at bay.

He began to hum.

* * *

Ethan grinned as he opened the door to his room. Dinner with extended families was never a guaranteed fine dining experience, but that night he was pretty satisfied. Aunty Em's homemade lasagna was the best he had ever tasted, and the dessert was surprisingly good. All in all, it had been a great night.

He pulled his pajamas from the wardrobe and was just about to change when he heard Tiny meowing. He turned to see the cat staring at him expectantly. "Oh, I haven't given you your share of milk tonight, have I?"

The cat meowed again.

"Come here, you," Ethan shook his head in amusement, and the boy and the cat went to the kitchen, where Ethan pulled a bowl and poured some milk into it as Tiny waited, licking her lips, tail swishing left and right.

The doorbell sounded. Ethan frowned. Just who would come at this hour?

"Ethan, can you get the door?" his mother requested from the living room.

"Just a moment," Ethan answered. He closed the milk bottle and put it away, and put the bowl of milk down so that Tiny could drink. Then, he walked to the door and opened it, putting on a smile even though he was a little irritated that he had to be the one to open the door.

"Hello," he greeted, smile waning a little when he saw that the guest was wearing a hoodie to conceal his face. "Is there anything I can help you with?"

The guest, whose hands were concealed within the pocket of his hoodie, slowly lifted his hands. A glint of metal met the dark of the night. Ethan's smile vanished completely.

Before he could say anything, the guest – intruder – would-be-killer – lunged at him. The door was kicked close and he was dragged to the living room, and there was only so much he could do before his world exploded into red, hot pain and all sound was swallowed by screams that was his mother's, father's, and his own.

* * *

A/N: I'm bringing the plot. Someone died. Yes, it's Ethan. He's the Aforementioned X that I've mentioned chapters and chapters ago.

I'm sorry.

Please leave some reviews and tell me what you think. I hope you'll all have a great day.


	29. Nightmares and Hot Drinks

Twenty Nine: Nightmares and Hot Drinks

 _Green, rolling hills stretched out before his eyes. His little brother stumbled next to him, and they both laughed. They were just two little boys, happy in their world of eternal spring._

 _Strong arms reached for them from behind and they were pulled into the warm embrace of the familiar black haired, black eyed man. A large grin adorned his face and both boys grinned back. From their sides, two woman came out, one a brunette and the other a blonde, and both smiled at them lovingly, so startlingly similar in that regard despite the differences they had._

 _And then, all of a sudden, the scenery turned into that of a dark room, lit only by minimal lights. A circle was drawn in the middle of the room, and both women stood there._

 _"_ _Edward…" they called, their voices merging into one. Underneath that was something darker, something terrifying, something that wouldn't spare their eyes from the horrors that lay ahead. "We love you…"_

 _The golden boy screamed when both women melted. Their skin peeled off of their faces like melted candle, before dripping to the floor and staining the intricate circle red. Before long, both women crumbled to the floor and seemingly merged into one._

 _"_ _Brother…!"_

 _He gasped and turned aside._ "Al – !"

 _Right before his eyes the little brother he loved so much slowly disintegrated, gone into who knew where._

"No… no… not him…!"

 _The clang of iron meeting the floor, the feeling of steel under his fingertip. Another circle was drawn._

 _"_ _Edward… what have you done?"_

 _The black eyed and black haired man stood behind him. His eyes stared but did not see. A cloud of white hung in his eyes. He could no longer see. The boy screamed again, this time in horror, when the man fell face-first to the floor, and again when his body disintegrated into sand._

"No… no… no…!"

 _"_ _Edward…" distant voice called him. He turned and felt tears of horror pricking his eyes when he saw something he couldn't recognize – for it did not seem human – crawled to him. "Edward… why couldn't you make mommy better…?"_

 _"_ _Hey, Ed…"_

 _He gasped. This voice. This was a recent one. A new addition. He turned, almost too scared to look, but forced himself to anyway. Tears pricked at his eyes again._

 _"_ _Why the long face?"_

"Ethan…?"

 _"_ _I don't get it, Ed… you're a State Alchemist. You're the Fullmetal Alchemist! Aren't you supposed to be a powerful person?"_

 _Red bloomed in Ethan's stomach. A dark, shadowy figure stood behind him. Ethan jerked, but his face was a disturbing mask, showing nothing within. Something gleaming pierced through his flesh. Blood dripped._

 _"_ _Why couldn't you save me?"_

 _His face was painted with question, hurt. Maybe accusation. He jerked again with a gasp when the glint of metal was pulled out of his body from behind. The shadowy figure vanished into smoke as Ethan fell to the ground._

 _He screamed. He tried to get to him, but something was wrong. He couldn't move his right arm and left leg. But he needed to get to Ethan but he couldn't move. He tried walking, he tried crawling, neither worked._

 _"_ _Ed…"_

 _He turned to Ethan._ "Wh... what?"

 _There it was. He was accusing him with his eyes, that much was clear now. There was something that punched him right in the gut in how piercing it was._

 _"_ _Why, Ed?"_

 _For a brief moment, it was all silent. And then all of a sudden he was surrounded by the sounds of people screaming and screeching in agony. Eyes stared at him, all blaming, all accusing. Red soulfire eyes, brown loving eyes, sherry red calculating eyes. Eyes black but clouded with white confusion. Eyes brown, staring with a mixture of pain and confusion on top of the accusation._

 _He closed his eyes, feeling the tears that had gathered finally dropping. He wanted it all to stop. He wanted out. His breath fastened, and before long, he opened his mouth to let out a scream._

* * *

His eyes snapped open when he heard the piercing sound of a terrified, broken scream. He looked around, wild eyes glancing everywhere, his mouth opened in a scream of his own that never quite sounded. He pulled himself up, once more looking around the room. It was then that he realized he was on his bed. He frowned. He didn't remember going to bed. With a frown, he turned to the window he had been sitting by. Tiny was there, half crouching and half laying on a small pillow. She stared at him when she felt his gaze and meowed.

He turned to the closed door. The sound of the scream had gone, now replaced by a set of broken sobs muffled by the door.

Tiny meowed again, louder this time, and he turned to her again. The cat's piercing yellow eyes were practically demanding him to investigate the sound.

He sighed. "Fine," he threw his blanket over and walked out the door, following the sound of the sobs. It came from the other room, he realized. He knocked at the door softly and pushed it open, and there by the doorway he stood frozen.

There, sitting on the bed, were Roy and Riza. Roy's face was buried in Riza's shoulder, obscured by her hair, as the woman whispered soothing words into his ear and rubbed comforting circles on his back. Racking sobs came from him.

And it was wrong. Just… _wrong_. Roy Mustang wasn't supposed to be crying. He was annoying jerk who would do anything to get a seat in higher-ups of the military. He wasn't supposed to be crying.

"Edward…" He jumped when he heard Rizza calling. "Can you go to the kitchen?" she requested. "Heat some water and milk for me. I'll be there soon."

"I… okay," Edward nodded and dashed as quietly as possible to the kitchen. As he did what Riza requested him to, his mind wandered to his dream and what finally woke him up. Did Roy also have a bad dream?

A meow told Edward that Tiny had come. He sighed. "Fine, I'll get you some milk too," he told the cat.

He waited until the milk and water bubbled, signaling that they were already heated. After he turned off the stove, he sat on a chair by the dining table, staring at how Tiny bathe herself and basically did nothing. His mind was still plagued by the nightmare that had just haunted him. He still trembled when he remembered Ethan's face in his dream.

He sighed at stared at the table, and for the first time realized the existence of an inconspicuous manila folder sitting on the table. He frowned, wondering what was inside. His hand reached out to it.

"Stop! Don't touch that!"

Edward froze and turned. He came face to face with Roy, who stared at him with something he couldn't recognize. His eyes were bloodshot, a reminder of his tears, and his hair was ruffled and messy. He panted and repeated, "Don't touch that. That is an order."

"You're not the boss of me."

Roy gave him a pointed look.

"Dammit," Edward muttered. "Why?" he asked instead, hand still hovering over the folder. "What's inside it? Why can't I touch it?"

Roy seemed to have an internal struggle for a moment before he answered, "It's the photographs of the crime scene."

"Then why can't I see them?"

"Do you really want to see Ethan's dead body, Ed?"

Edward winced but went ahead anyway. "I've already had mental images anyway."

Roy shook his head, eyes staring with something akin of hurt and pity. "Having a mental image isn't the same as seeing the real thing, Ed. You know it."

Edward considered Roy's words. Realizing the truth in it, he pulled his hand back, even though his eyes still stared at the folder. Roy sighed in relief before sitting across of him, pulling the folder to him and placed it on the empty seat by his.

Edward squirmed in his seat. Both males still hadn't talked since the night Roy scolded Edward. It was awkward to sit face to face like this.

Edward jumped when a mug was placed in front of him. He looked up to see Riza gazing at him. "Um, what is this?"

"Hot chocolate," Riza answered as she placed another cup in front of Roy, which he took and sniffed immediately. "I know you don't like milk, so I didn't use it in yours."

Edward picked the mug tentatively before blowing gently on the surface and sipped the liquid. "It's good," he whispered.

Riza smiled a little, taking another mug that she cradled in her hands. "It's good for the nerves," she said. "You had a nightmare, didn't you? You were yelling." Her eyes stared into his with guilt. "I'm sorry. I should've come to wake you up."

Edward shook his head. "I would've stayed, too, if I were you. _He_ needed more help, right?" Edward gestured with his chin at Roy. At the look Roy sent him, he shrugged. "You woke me up," he whispered into his mug.

"I'm sorry," Roy muttered. Edward simply shrugged. The older man shifted in his seat before asking, "Do you want to talk about it? Your… dream?"

Edward looked away. "You're the one who woke up screaming. I'd say you need to talk about it more than I do."

Roy froze, and Riza stared. Edward sighed. Really, if he didn't want to talk about what he dreamt about he shouldn't have asked Edward about his dream.

But Roy surprised him when he spoke up. "I dreamt about Ishval."

Edward stared, as did Riza. Her hands put the mug she cradled to the table and one of them reached to Roy's. He accepted the touch immediately, fingers curling into Riza's.

"It was probably triggered by those photos," Roy had no qualms about hiding his disdain, openly glaring at the manila folder. "I dreamt about fire. About people that I… killed… in there. Everyone in the team was there, including you, and also Alphonse. They all…" he swallowed thickly. "They fell, and…" he gave a shaky breath. "… all my fault," he muttered under his breath, nearly inaudible.

Edward sipped his drink. "So even the great Flame Alchemist isn't spared from the nightmares," he noted. He could feel Roy's eyes sharply glaring at him, but he ignored it, opting instead to sip the hot chocolate loudly. Only then did he realize that his hands were trembling. He cursed inwardly as he placed his mug back on the table. "Equivalent exchange," he spoke suddenly, startling Roy and Riza. "You told me yours, I'll tell you mine." He tapped on the table with his fingers, wishing that it would make his trembling less obvious, even though he knew it was futile. "I was back in Resembool. I was with my family." He intentionally left out the bit that both Roy and Riza were in his dream. Riza was okay, but there was no reason to inflate Roy's ego further. It had nothing to do with his own embarrassment, of course. "It was the night I made that transmutation. Mom turned into… that… thing." His hands were practically shaking. _Shit._ "Al… gone. And then there was Ethan, and he... he blamed me." He clenched his fists. They were still shaking. He opened his mouth, wanting to say more, but found that he couldn't say another word. He slumped into his seat.

Silence draped in the room before Roy broke it. "That sounds like it sucked."

Edward snorted. "It sucked a lot," he agreed. He couldn't still his hands. He took a deep breath and exhaled slowly in an attempt to collect himself, only to swear inwardly again when it came out shaky.

Roy stared before asking, "Are you alright?"

Edward shrugged. "I've been better," he answered carelessly, but he knew both Roy and Riza could see through him. He took a careless gulp of his drink, feeling the liquid scalding his mouth. He made a face, putting the mug back down and making a mental note to wait until the drink was cooler before drinking again.

"Edward," Riza sighed, slipping into the seat closest to his, one hand reaching to envelope his in hers, though unwilling to let go of Roy's. "It's okay," she whispered. "You'll be okay."

Edward shifted backwards when he felt heat rising in his back, rising to his face. He was about to cry. But he shouldn't. He turned away, biting his lower lip, willing himself not to cry.

"What you went through was horrible," Riza continued. "You can't possibly hope to go through all that on your own. We can help, Edward."

"He looks like he needed help just as much as I do, if not more," Edward glanced to Roy, who glared at him in annoyance. Edward didn't realize it, however, too busy wondering whether he was more upset that his voice was hitched in his throat or that he admitted he needed help.

"What's wrong with helping each other?" Riza asked. "Both of you are human. It's only natural that you'd need another human's help."

Edward opened his mouth in protest, only to close it again and sighed. "That's true, I suppose," he whispered, voice hitched still.

Roy extended his hand and clasped it over Edward's other hand, the one that Riza didn't hold. Somehow, they ended up forming a sloppy circle over the table. Edward stared at the man, and he stared back. There was no word that he spoke, but his eyes silently asked that Edward accepted whatever help Roy would offer, and pleaded that their petty cold war could end. He was asking for forgiveness, but only with his eyes. Edward supposed it was good enough. He nodded.

"Ishval… was it?" Edward asked tentatively, directing the question to Roy. He was glad to realize that his voice was no longer hitched, and that his hands no longer shook, finally stilling under the warmth of Roy and Riza's hands.

Roy looked away. "Yes," he answered at last.

"And… flames?"

Roy's smile was crooked, hurt. "And there, you have it," he told Edward. "The reason why I don't want you to learn flame alchemy."

Edward's eyes went wide. _Flame alchemy… the people he killed, all his fault…_ Edward could feel his face paling. No wonder Roy didn't want to teach flame alchemy.

They stayed that way for a while, sitting in silence and feeling each other's warmth through their hands. It was Roy, in the end, who broke the hold first, taking his hand off Edward's to take a sip of his now cool hot chocolate. Edward followed his example, taking the mug off the table and sipped, feeling the drink slowly warmed him up and calm his nerves. Only Riza stayed still, holding their hands and anchoring them to the world, glancing back and forth at the two of them as though trying to make sure both were alright.

"I think we should all go back to sleep," Riza announced after all mugs had been emptied. "There's no use staying up all night, and we'll still have to open the shop tomorrow."

Edward nodded. "Right," he agreed, looking around. "Uh, Tiny…?"

"She's already asleep, Edward," Riza pointed at the couch, where Tiny was already curled comfortably. "You should be, too. Come now."

"Wait, Riza," Roy caught Riza's wrist as she stood up. "Are you alright?" When Riza opened her mouth, Roy added, "Don't lie. You know as well as I do that I'll be able to tell."

Edward stared. "Did you have a nightmare too?"

Riza stayed silent for a moment before answering softly, "In a war, snipers' shots are guaranteed kills. This is why snipers are highly valuable. The upside of the skill, aside of having a guaranteed success rate, is that you don't have to feel your victim die. However… the downside is that you'll be able to see the moment of their death through the sniping scope." Her eyes flicked to Roy, then to Edward, then she lowered her gaze.

"Riza…" Roy sighed. "You're not killing me."

"You gave me permission to."

"I know you. You wouldn't unless it is absolutely necessary."

"But I did in my dream."

"A dream isn't real," Edward muttered. "It won't come true. Right?" The image of Riza melting together with Trisha and Roy, walking blindly around hovered in Edward's mind.

"It won't," Riza answered. She smiled slightly and pulled her hand away from Roy's hold. "Goodnight," she said at last as she walked back to the room she shared with Roy.

* * *

A/N: wow. I didn't expect that I'd upset so many people with killing Ethan. It kinda makes me wonder if I'm a good writer, or a bad person, or both. Some people even asked to have it changed because they didn't want Ethan to die. Sorry, folks, but that's not going to happen. I've decided this since the thirteenth chapter (I think?) so no, a sudden change isn't going to happen.

And Happy Holidays, guys! I hope you've all had a lovely holiday, and even lovelier new year, later. We've all managed to survive another year! Yeah!

Now, to business. So many people requested a nightmare chapter! Alheli, TwilightClaw, jelexd, dragoscilvio, Lord Nitro, JinkiesCrown, and Emptyinkbottle (AO3) all did. You naughty, naughty kids. You must've made it to the naughty list this year. A guest also asked to have Roy as the boys' real dad and Riza as their second mom in a dream. This is totally vague but you got it. And, also really really vague in this, but Skadarken-Weiz wants to see Ed helping Roy and Riza with their demons. I'd say they all help each other, though...

So. Once again, Happy Holidays. Please leave me some reviews, and hope you all have a great day.


	30. Sickness and Soup

Thirty: Sickness and Soup

Outside, the sun was shining bright. Clouds lazily rolled over the blue sky and birds sang as they rode the wind. It was, through and through, a sunny, beautiful morning.

Unfortunately, the same couldn't be said regarding the atmosphere of the Mason residence.

At the moment, Roy was standing by the dining table, staring at Riza as she slumped at the chair, face buried in her hands. The man sighed as he bent over his supposed wife and for the tenth time in the morning felt her temperature. She wasn't so hot that she needed immediate medical attention, but she needed rest all the same. "I'll say it again; you're burning up. Stop being a stubborn fool and don't push yourself. Just rest."

"We need to man the shop," Riza insisted stubbornly, even as she leaned into Roy's touch.

"We'll close it temporarily. It's not like we need the money," Roy rolled his eyes. Wasn't he supposed to be the reckless one?

"Havoc…"

"I'll tell him he doesn't need to make his round today."

"We've already got regulars…"

"They can get bread from another bakery," Roy nearly snapped. He sighed. "Riza, please. You can barely walk straight. You need to rest, not to work."

The woman was silent for a moment before she sighed, slumping her head to Roy's head. He knew it was the closest thing to agreement he would get from her. "I'm not getting back into the room," she spoke quietly. "It's stuffy. I'll just stay here."

"Lay on the couch, at least," Roy argued.

Riza nodded and pushed herself to her feet, staggering to the couch as Roy helped her walk. Soon she was slumped there, sinking into the cushion, eyes closed, as content as a sick person could be. Roy sighed again as he straightened up and went to the kitchen counter to take a pitcher and a glass for Riza. He suspected she didn't sleep again after waking up the night before. Her nightmare must have kept her up.

"Dad?"

He turned. "Yes, Ed?"

The boy stood there by the door, dressed in black. "Is Mom okay?"

"Just a slight fever, nothing life threatening," Riza waved the boy off. "Don't worry too much."

"Are you sure you're okay?" Edward walked over to her, taking her hand into his. "Because you don't look too good."

"I'm fine, Ed," Riza insisted. "Come, now. You don't want to be late for the funeral, do you?"

Edward exhaled loudly. "Get well soon," he told her.

"Be careful on your way," Roy told the boy. Edward simply smiled and waved before going out.

Roy immediately turned to Riza. "Can you just rest now?"

"I don't think I can sleep again, but I'll rest here," Riza shrugged.

"Alright," Roy nodded. "I'll make you some soup."

"Please don't burn down the house," Riza pleaded, sounding genuinely distressed.

"Riza," Roy began seriously, "the days I nearly cause a house fire because of some reckless use of stove and flame alchemy is over. I've learned my lessons."

"That's good to hear," Riza said, but her eyes still lingered warily at Roy.

"Have some faith in me," Roy smirked. For the first time, Riza smiled, though it looked more resigned than anything.

It didn't take long for Roy to cook the soup. It wasn't an intricate dish like the ones the cook in Madame Christmas' bar taught him, so it didn't take him long to figure out. Soon, he poured a bowl of it and brought it over to Riza.

She was so quiet, he half expected her to be asleep. But she wasn't. Instead, she was blankly staring at the wall with a haunted look in her eyes. It reminded him so much of her eyes when they got back from Ishval. He didn't like it.

He placed the bowl on the coffee table in front of Riza and shook her gently while calling her name. She started, looking up at him with wild eyes that darted everywhere before meeting his. She sighed and slumped into the cushion again.

"The soup's ready," Roy told her. She nodded as a response and pulled herself upright, but ended up slumping in the couch again. It was only then that Roy realized just how pale Riza was. He gulped and sat next to her, taking the bowl in his hands. "I'll feed you. Just rest."

"Okay," Riza sighed, and the lack of glare from her was enough for Roy to confirm his worries. He knew Riza wasn't _too_ sick, since her temperature wasn't really that high. Something was weighing her mind, and Roy was sure it was the dream.

He took a spoonful of the soup and blew softly at it to cool it down. "How do you feel?" he asked as he prodded her to eat.

She sipped the soup. "Like I'm ill," she deadpanned.

"That's good to know," Roy noted wryly. "Your temperature isn't very high, though. Some rest and you should be good."

"I know, I can tell," Riza agreed, having the gall to sound annoyed. Roy shook his head as he fed Riza some more. She always had a shorter fuse when she was sick or having period. Thankfully, having lived together during their adolescent years had helped him tremendously with how to deal with this side of her.

"If you're not that sick, why are you so grumpy?" he asked directly. Beating around the bush would just annoy Riza further. "There's something in your mind, right?"

Riza glared.

"I can tell," Roy told her gently. "You're not the only one who can read _someone_ like a book."

Riza sighed, visibly deflating. "It's the dream," she admitted.

 _I knew it_ , Roy thought, both parts victorious and grim. "What was it about?" he took another spoonful of the soup and blew. "Can you tell me?"

Riza's face tore into an expression of anguish, as though wordlessly begging Roy not to ask her to relive that nightmare. It was disturbing, to see her normally calm and collected visage contorting into desperation like that. But talking was the best way to get it out of her system, and Roy was sure Riza knew it, too.

"Come on, trust me on this," Roy whined playfully, holding another spoonful of soup in front of her. "I told you and Ed mine. You tell me yours. Equivalent exchange, right?"

Riza snorted. "You alchemists and your equivalent exchange," she grumbled, eating the spoonful of soup at last. She looked away. "Besides, I told you already. I killed you and Ed."

"I want details," Roy demanded, exerting as much authority into his voice as possible without sounding too pushy.

Thankfully, though, it worked. Riza sent a halfhearted glare at him and began, "It began in Ishval, like your dream. I had to kill them, as per the usual order. And then all of a sudden it was in the office, and I had to kill everyone present. You were in the room, with Ed and Alphonse. I… I shot you at the back of your head," she gulped, breaking eye contact. "And Alphonse… his chest plate and head was nonexistent, for some reason. I smeared his blood seal. And Ed…" it was then that her breath started to hitch. "There was a shadow behind him, and I… I shot him in the chest, and the bullet went through and shot the shadowy person, too. It was a clean kill. Both fell and died instantly."

Roy reached out to hold Riza's hand. She stared at him and forced a smile. "It was just a dream… but it still felt real."

"I understand," Roy whispered.

"Roy…" she bit her lip. "Will you promise to stop me if _I_ stray?"

Roy nodded. "You promised me the same. It's only fair if I also promise you that."

"… thank you."

She grasped his hand back, and the too-warm, clammy skin reminded Roy once more of Riza's sickness. She probably wouldn't be as open if she were healthy. They stayed that way for a while, staring into each other's eyes and finding solace in the depths of the too old, too worn eyes.

After a while, Riza's eyes darted from Roy's eyes to the bowl of soup in his hands. It was still half full. "Will you give me more of that?" she requested.

Roy chuckled in amusement. When she wasn't being irritated, sick Riza was usually cutely demanding. Except when she was _really_ sick. Then she just looked half dead, which was more worrying than anything. "Of course, Your Highness," he replied, playful and sarcastic at the same time, as he took another spoonful of soup. "Will you rest after this?"

"If I could, I would," Riza promised. It was good enough for Roy, and he nodded his approval. Riza wordlessly finished the soup, clearly content at letting herself being fed, and soon the bowl was emptied.

For Roy, it was almost _too_ soon.

* * *

A/N: some people might choose a sick Ed, but I choose Riza instead. Besides, she's not really _that_ sick, so this isn't technically a sickfic. Just maybe... half-sickfic? And I do apologize if this chapter feels rushed, because truthfully, it is. I'm going out of town tomorrow to attend a relative's wedding, and of course I won't be able to write there, so I thought it would be better if I post this soon since, yunno, I love reviews and all. *ahem* And I actually planned to do a double update, but I've run out of steam before the other chapter's done, so that gotta wait for a later update.

And I think some people asked for a sickfic. Raise your hand if you do! Cause I'm currently too lazy to actually check myself. Oops.

Oh, and happy new year! Do any of you have new year's resolution? I don't really have those except for, like, finish fics and original stories and graduate high school with good, or at least passable, grade. Which is, basically, my target every other day. Not as much a resolution than all-time target.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed it. Please leave me a review, and have a great day. Better yet, have a great year!


	31. One Solemn Vow

Thirty One: One Solemn Vow

Normally, Edward would expect that a bus ride full of teenaged kids would be full of jokes, laughs, yells, shouts, and perhaps even screams. But this one was quiet, somber.

Fitting. It was, after all, the bus ride that would bring him and everyone in the class to Ethan and his family's funeral.

Edward turned to his side. Sitting by the window was Vera, who quietly stared out with vacant, puffy eyes, refusing to speak a word to Edward. Her eyes met Edward's in the reflective glass and tears immediately pooled. She looked away, taking shaky breaths.

"Vera," Edward called, unsure of how to ease the girl.

"Please leave me be," she pleaded, refusing to meet his eyes. She curled to herself, pressing her temple to the glass of the bus and ignoring how the ride, no matter how smooth, still ended up bumping her head repeatedly.

Edward sighed and looked around the bus. There was a set of empty seat not far from his. Thinking that Vera probably wanted to be alone for a bit, he moved there and slumped by the window.

"Don't worry about Vera," someone told him from the seat across the aisle, and when he turned to face them he realized it was Cara. "This happened three years ago, too, when her mom died."

Edward blinked in surprise. "Her mom what?"

"Her mom died three years ago," Sherry was the one who answered. The mischievous gleam that normally filled her eyes was nowhere to be found. "Her reaction was like this, too. She didn't eat, didn't speak." She glanced to Vera's general direction, even though she couldn't see her because of the seat that blocked her view. "But now's a bit more extreme for some reason. She didn't drive us away that time."

The three fell into contemplative silence, suddenly not feeling like talking any longer. The bus ride was once again silent save for several hushed whispers every now and then.

The funeral itself passed without much incident. Apparently, Ethan's parents were religious and believed in the star goddess Asteria. The priest led the ceremony somberly, painting the family's murder as the tragedy it really was and assured that they had returned into Asteria's embrace and thus were in peace.

It didn't take more than fifteen minutes for Edward to grow sick of it and he slipped away from the crowd finding refuge behind the wall of a nearby chapel. It was probably used in ceremonies such as these when it rained or when the family requested indoor ceremony. He leaned to the wall and slid down, sighing.

It felt wrong to attend the funeral, listening to people singing praises of how Ethan and his family had been wonderful, kind people. It was true, of course, but they were supposed to still be alive instead of lying in a cold coffin, dirt forming formidable walls around them like some kind of sick, impenetrable dungeon. And the cause of their death was because of Edward's own inability to catch their killer.

He gnashed his teeth and willed himself not to cry. He needed to catch the killer. He had to. And the killer would pay for their crimes, one way or another. Edward swore that to himself.

Moments later, a movement by his left caught his attention. He turned, surprised to see Matt walking closer.

"You can't stand being there either?" Matt asked.

Edward shrugged. "I never really liked funerals in the first place," he admitted, remembering his own mother's funeral.

"Figures," Matt plopped down next to him. Edward shifted a little to add some space between them, but made no effort to actually get away from the other boy. The two sat in comfortable silence, enjoying each other's company, listening to the faint sound of people talking in the funeral. It was surprising, how content they were with each other's presence.

"Did he know yours?" Matt asked all of a sudden, breaking the silence. "Your secret?"

Edward stared.

Matt easily met his eyes and shrugged. "He knew mine," he looked away, gazing to the sky. "He came to my house to deliver some notes when I missed class and came across my parents screaming at each other." He shrugged again. "Well… I guess now you know, too."

Edward nodded. "Ethan do… did." He sighed. "He… knew about my conditions. What I… did in East City." He shook his head. "Well, not exactly, and not in great detail, but he knew enough."

Matt turned to him, staring at his arm. "It's about your arm, isn't it?"

"Part of it," Edward admitted.

"And how you were angry that time after another family was killed? … Before Ethan's?"

"That's another part of it," Edward nodded. A sudden bout of nervousness took over him. "Uh… you're not gonna tell, are you?"

Matt snorted. "I already knew about your arm for a long time and didn't spread a word of it to anyone. What makes you think I'll tattle now?"

"Well… I don't know if you would or wouldn't," Edward frowned. "Why didn't you tell anyone?"

"I'm not really sure about that, myself," Matt scratched his chin. "You don't really look like a person someone could easily threaten, I guess." He gestured wildly with his hands. "I mean, I tried. You didn't care the slightest."

It was Edward's turn to snort. "What sort of reason is that?" he shook his head. "You're basically saying you have no spine." He ignored Matt's grimace and sighed. "I guess Ethan was some sort of a secret keeper, then. He knew everyone's dirt."

"Good thing he knew how to keep his mouth shut," Matt added.

They sat there in silence again, not feeling any need to speak when they had reached a level of mutual understanding. It felt better like this, anyway, to mourn together in silence instead of listening to the people that highlighted the goodness in the dead family's selves to the point that they became a mere figures that existed on papers and photos instead of actual people that lived and breathed.

Soon, the sound of people chattering caught their attention. "Looks like it's already ended," Matt noted. "We should regroup with the others."

Edward turned to the grave's general direction. "Yeah," he muttered before standing. Both he and Matt walked back to the group, which was still hanging about the graves. Matt immediately went over to talk with Liam and Noah, but Edward opted to stand in front of Ethan's grave. He looked around to make sure that no one was around to hear him say anything and kneeled by the tombstone.

"I'm sorry," he whispered to Ethan's grave, carefully controlling his voice so that no one heard. "It's my fault. You shouldn't have died. I should've caught him. If I could give you back your life, I would." He put his hand on the tomb, suddenly remembering all the time he and Alphonse had spent by their mother's grave. "I'll catch your killer," he vowed. "I'll catch them and put them where they deserve to be. I promise you this."

"Edward, we're leaving," from afar, Sherry called out loudly to Edward.

"Coming," Edward shouted back. He turned again to the grave and patted the tombstone solemnly, nodding a goodbye, before standing up and walking away from there.

A strong breeze blew at his braid, playing with his bangs and messing his hair. For the last time, Edward turned to the graves. "I promise," he whispered again.

The breeze grew ever stronger, swirling around him as though hugging him. _It's not your fault_ , Edward thought he heard a voice say. He shook his head as the wind died down, chalking it up as an auditory hallucination or something. He marched to the bus with newfound determination in his eyes, intent to fulfill his promise he uttered before the graves.

"You done here?" Sherry asked as he came near her.

"Yeah," he nodded. "Let's go."

The breeze blew again behind him, as though biding him farewell.

* * *

A/N: And I give to you... one chapter of Ed-Matt bonding no one asked for!

And for the Asteria the star goddess thing. There really is a character in Greek myth named Asteria (several, actually, but this one refers to one specific Asteria), who is the sister of Leto, mother of Apollo and Artemis. As I'm sure you know, Leto in FMA verse is the name of the sun god Father Cornello built a church for. Or was it the other way around? The church was already there, and then Cornello took over it? I don't remember. Anyway, Asteria in Greek myth is the Titan goddess of nocturnal oracles and falling stars. Her name itself means _of the stars, the starry one_. I think it's fitting to use in this story.

Anyway, I'm just glad that I managed to finish this chapter, since it's been bugging me for a few days because I hit a minor writer's block. And I'm so glad the review system in this site's finally okay again! At last I can read the reviews in the actual site again!

Well, I hope you enjoyed the story. Please leave a review to tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	32. Sing a Song

Thirty Two: Sing a Song

The silence in the house, Roy thought, was unbearable.

Having been living with two other people for so long, Roy had learned to adjust to the noise that came with it – the sound of people yelling names, knocks on the door telling him to let the others use the toilet, sudden whines of a kid who craved for stew. The only time when the house was totally silent was when they all slept at night.

But right then it was completely still. The person that Roy normally would have spoken to was fast asleep on the couch, and the noisy kid that yelled and stomped everywhere he was in his room, having that rare moment when he was silent and contemplative. Roy was starting to feel overwhelmed by the silence. How did he manage to live all by himself all those years? What a mystery.

He poured himself some water and sipped. It was funny, really. When he was used to living alone, he hated having to hear too much noise. Now that he had a 'family' to live with, the silence made him feel caged.

But it wasn't really all _that_ silent. Why was it that he felt like he was hearing something? A wordless hum, a string of melody that rode the air, soft but demanding attention. With a frown, Roy put his glass down and followed the voice, stalking noiselessly to where it came from. It was a skill he had required and put into good use in Ishval. He knew he would need it again in the military. But he had never thought that he would use it in his own home.

As he got closer to the voice, the hum formed whispered, slurred words that he couldn't identify. He tried his best to understand the words. It sounded somewhat similar to Amestrian, but at the same time it wasn't the same language. It got him curious.

He recognized the voice as Edward's, at last. And the song was the same as the one he sang in Roy's office, the day Roy informed him of the mission in which they and Riza were in the middle of. He stopped by the partly open door, listening to Edward's voice, surprised with the ease the tones escaped his lips. The boy himself was unaware of the audience he had gotten, too preoccupied with the song and the cat in his arms as he stared out of his window.

He was still in the middle of singing when he turned and saw Roy at the doorframe, and the song stopped into a halt with an unflattering squeak. His face burned a shade of red and he dropped Tiny to the floor. The cat let out a surprised meow and gave protesting hiss before jumping up to Edward's desk and started licking her paws.

"You've got nice voice, Ed," Roy commented, ignoring the boy's state of surprise. He found that he longed to hear him sing again. It was surprisingly soothing, despite the fact that Edward normally spout out curses and insults.

"Why are you there?!" Edward screeched, voice an octave higher than usual. Louder, too.

Roy put a finger on his lips and shushed. "Riza's still sleeping," he murmured. "And is there really any need for me to be here? This is also my house." At the glare he received, Roy sighed and admitted, "I heard someone singing and decided to investigate. Turns out it was you."

"That wasn't for you to hear," Edward spoke softly, more out of embarrassment than anger.

Roy shrugged. "Your room was open. The sound was carried over. And what are you getting flustered for? There's nothing wrong with singing. Better that than doing research for days on end without eating, right?"

"As if you've never done it before," Edward scoffed. It was no secret that alchemists tend to forget about everything the real world could offer once they delved into their research.

"Exactly, that's why I can say singing's better," Roy smirked, pointing a finger at Edward's face.

The boy shook his head and sat on his bed. "I don't really like it when people hear me sing. They always think I'm bad at music. Which I am, actually," Edward admitted, "but I can at least sing this song right."

"What song is that, if I may ask?" Roy inquired curiously.

Edward was silent for a moment, as if debating if he should spill, but in the end he caved. "It's a lullaby our mom used to sing," he explained. "I think the bastard taught the song to her. We don't know what language it is, though. It may have the same roots as Amestrian since they're kind of similar, but they're different enough for us to not be able to even guess the meaning."

"It's a nice song, though."

Edward nodded absently. "She sang it all the time to calm us down. Nightmare, fever, upset stomach, or just plain uneasy feeling, it worked for all of them. Still does."

"So basically, you sing whenever you feel down," Roy concluded.

A hint of pink creeped into Edward's cheeks. He groaned, but nodded. "This is so lame," he muttered.

"It's just a way to cope," Roy argued. "We all have one. It's not lame."

Edward simply shrugged, looking as though he didn't care. But there was a glint in his eyes that suggested that he might feel better about the singing ordeal, and that was good enough for Roy.

"Come on, help me prepare today's dinner," Roy beckoned to the boy. "Riza's out cold and I don't want to wake her up. She needs her rest."

"How sick is she, really?" Edward asked as he pushed himself off the bed.

"I think she's just got a lot on her mind," Roy answered. "And lack of sleep from yesterday's nightmare, maybe."

Edward's voice dropped into a whisper as they walked to the kitchen. "What do you want to cook anyway?"

"I don't know yet. Creamy chicken and mushroom with rice? Riza taught me to make it." Roy's voice, too was a hushed whisper.

"Sounds good," Edward agreed. "I'll handle the rice."

"Still can't cook well enough?" Roy grinned, teasing.

"Well I can cook the creamy chicken, but I can't guarantee it will taste okay," Edward grinned back, shrugging.

"I'll take care of that one," Roy decided at once, the teasing grin turning wry.

"I thought you would," Edward's grin grew wider with victory.

When they got to the living room-slash-dining room, they found that Riza had rolled in her sleep. The pillow she was using was on the floor and the blanket covering her had partially draped down the couch. Roy sighed and pulled the blanket up again, and he picked and put the pillow gently under Riza's head once more. He caressed her cheek gently, almost as though caressing the petals of a fragile bloom, a soft smile adorning his lips. Responding to the touch, she sighed in her sleep, leaning to the warmth of his skin and curling tighter before settling once more.

Meanwhile, Edward was watching the entire thing, leaning on the kitchen counter. "Say," he began, breaking the silence and effectively calling upon Roy's attention. "Is this normal for married people?"

Roy shook his head with a frown, genuinely confused. "Sorry?"

"Is it normal for married people to do that kind of thing? Take care when the other's sick and steal some touches in between?"

Roy gave him a look. "Ed… this is just an undercover mission."

Edward's brow shot up. "I thought we already established that you two are into each other?"

Roy pinched the bridge of his nose. "Ed. We're not married."

"Could've fooled me." Edward shrugged and turned, taking pans, knives, and other utensils needed to cook.

"Like how you say you're not in love with your mechanic? Yeah, that could've fooled me too."

Edward dropped a cutting board, which landed on his toe before clattering to the floor loudly. He cursed loudly, pained. Roy quickly shushed him in alarm, afraid that it would wake Riza, but he was too late. She woke with a surprised jolt, looking around the room and calming immediately when she saw Edward hopping about on one foot and clutching the other, face red, though whether out of pain or embarrassment, it wasn't clear.

"No fair!" Edward yelled, pointing at Roy with one hand. "Winry's got nothing to do with this. We were discussing about you!"

"What's going on?" Riza asked, pulling the blanket off of her and folding it neatly.

"Nothing, really, just doing some preparations to cook dinner," Roy answered. He'd tell Riza all about it, in details, but later. It'll be funnier to describe how Edward went so flustered at the mere mention of his mechanic without his constant yelling of denial. Or maybe it would be better if he was to hover in the background screaming denials?

"I'll do the cooking," Riza offered, but Roy glared at her.

"No, you rest. Edward and I can handle it," he pushed her gently back to the couch.

"I've already slept for so long."

"You still look like you need rest. So _rest_." His tone left no room for argument. Riza stared at him for a moment before sighing and slumping back at the couch, a small, helpless smile at her lips.

The sudden sound of knocking on a door took their attention.

"A guest, now?" Roy muttered.

"I'll get the door," Edward announced, already walking downstairs to open the front door.

"I'll go down too," Roy told Riza, turning. "I don't think he knows how to handle pushy customers, if it turned out to be one. But you, rest."

"Yes, yes," Riza sighed.

Roy was only halfway down the stairs when he heard Edward's voice talking from the door. "Mr. Todd, Vera. It's… a surprise?"

Roy finally reached the ground floor as Mr. Todd's voice – Vic, he remembered the man telling him his nickname the last time he came to buy some bread – responding to Edward's words. "Please, Ed, call me Vic. We were just in the neighborhood and thought we should drop by."

"That's… nice," Edward muttered. Clearly, he didn't really know how to handle such situation.

"Good evening, Vic," Roy came up and took the situation into his hands at once. "Sorry, we weren't expecting to have visitors. Please come in."

"Hey, Ver," Edward greeted Vera, but the girl simply looked away. Roy took a good look at her, feeling that something was off. She was quiet and subdued, but this time she seemed even more so than usual.

"Vera, what's wrong?" the boy walked closer to her and put his hand on her shoulder. She winced, jumping away from his touch, an expression of pure disgust in her face, and Roy couldn't help but feel somewhat offended.

"I'm sorry," she muttered, tears glistening in her eyes, and she repeated the same sentence over and over again, and suddenly the offence turned into worry. The girl was clearly distraught. Edward quickly tried to calm the girl down, but she kept shaking her head and repeating the words of apology, though it wasn't clear what she was apologizing for.

Sudden soft touch of a furry body on his legs made Roy jump. He looked down to see that Tiny had come down and positioned herself between his legs. She stared at Vic closely before she began hissing and spitting violently, tail looking like a brush, body trembling. Vic, however, looked unfazed by this. He simply ushered both Edward and Vera further inside and closed the door behind him.

Roy's mind whirred. Vera's weird behavior, Vic's own oddly calm demeanor despite his daughter's behavior, Tiny's hostility that seemed more like fear than anything.

The location of the Todd's house.

His eyes widened, and his eyes darted from Tiny to Vic before he turned to Edward, who was still occupied with Vera and was clearly unaware of Roy's realization. It was probably unwise to let his eyes off of Vic, but he doubted he would do anything in front of his own daughter. "Ed – "

The golden boy turned to him, and his own eyes widened in alarm. "Wait – stop – Dad, watch out!"

Briefly, Roy wondered why Edward would warn him, but before he could think about any possible reason of it, something bludgeoned into his head viciously.

Edward's distressed cries mixed with Vera's fevered apologies and Tiny's panicked hiss. He fell to the hard floor with a thump, and as the world grew dark, he cursed in his mind.

 _We're screwed._

* * *

A/N: *checks when's the last time I updated* Um. Hello? So sorry about the late update... there was some problems with my internet connection a while ago, and I had some difficulty writing this one. I hope this is okay, though.

I think this chapter is pretty telling. Yep, Vera's dad (who I finally give a name that he should've had since like chapters ago) is the one. Virtual cupcakes for all who have guessed and suspected him as the killer. And Vera knows. What will happen next, I wonder? *grin*  
And it should be pretty obvious that the story's coming to an end, too. Which is... good, actually. I'll have more time to tackle on more projects in the future, finish old ones, and concentrate on my studies which is the most important since this is my final year.

Anyway. curligurl0896 asked for a singing Ed a while ago, and TanyaS89 wanted to have a sick Riza being taken care of by Roy while Edward wonders if that's how spousal relationship normally works. Did I nail it? Sure hope I did. Lady Ravynna Frost (LadyAzaraRose) (AO3) also asked for a sick someone, actually, and I think this counts?

Well, I hope you enjoyed it. Please leave some reviews and tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	33. Take a Shot

Thirty Three: Take a Shot

While she wasn't an alchemist, herself, Riza believed in science just as much as any other alchemist did.

That was just something you get from growing up with an alchemist for a father. Magic tricks? Scratch the magic part, and you'd see it for what it really was. Spells and potions? Rubbish that belonged in the dumpster and should not be believed in the first place. Hocus pocus? Throw it out of the window. Berthold Hawkeye allowed the existence of fairy tales and bits of make-believe within his household, but he made a clear line between reality and fantasy. Riza was used to follow that guideline.

She did, however, believe in gut feelings. It had helped her before, and it sure would help her again and again. She believed that it was a way her unconscious tried to warn her of something amiss that it had picked but her conscious hadn't. So she believed it.

She had had a bad feeling settling in her stomach as soon as Roy's head disappeared downstairs. But the real alarm only began ringing when she hears Vic's voice. Somehow, she felt that it carried an ominous undertone, unlike the friendly tone he had adopted every time he visited them before. She was sure he wouldn't hear her upstairs, but just in case, she slid off the couch and moved silently to her room to retrieve the gun she hid under her pillow. She had a feeling she would need that.

With the coldness of metal and its comfortable weight in her hands, Riza snuck to the stairs and knelt on the floor, trying to get a vantage point and gaining sight of a small portion of the room downstairs that also acted as their store. It was disadvantageous, and the part of her that had been used to her experience as a sniper screamed at her to get a better vantage point, but that was basically impossible unless she went out of the window. Unfortunately, the windows were in a bad shape and often stuck or creak and that would give away her position, so that wasn't an option.

Still, she might need some backup. As quietly as she could, she went to the phone, keeping her eyes on the doorway. Quickly and silently, she punched in the phone number of the temporary HQ the rest of Mustang's Unit had set up.

The phone was picked up soon. She heard Havoc's voice speaking a greeting, but she cut him off and hissed urgently instead, "Backup, Mason household, now. Suspect is downstairs, there are two minors, Mustang's either trying to incapacitate him or down. Proceed with caution." Without waiting for an answer, she ended the call and placed the receiver back at its place.

She had a job to do.

* * *

If she were to be completely honest, Vera had to say that she had felt that her father's behavior was odd.

Sometimes, he would go out late at night. She'd hide when he came home because she was supposed to be asleep and she knew she'd be reprimanded for being out of bed, but those times were the times she was too lonely, missing her mother so much that sleep just wouldn't come. Now that she thought long and hard about it, not long after those nights a family would be proclaimed dead.

And there were days her father would insist to do his own laundry despite their deal that Vera was to do the laundry and cooking while he handled the housekeeping. There was one time that she peeked while he did… the water was red. She had assumed it was ketchup or paint, but now she was certain it was blood.

But she only knew for sure the night Ethan and his parents died. Her father had come home, dark clothes wet, and she was still awake because of her homework, and she fussed over him. She touched his clothes, saw blood, and froze. She was in denial, she refused to believe that her beloved father had committed such heinous crime, but he admitted it, himself, and the next day at school she was told that Ethan had died… murdered. There was nothing else she could hold on to in order to justify her denial.

So she pushed away her friends. She couldn't bear to think that they could they could treat her so nicely if they ever found out the truth. How could they, when she was the offspring of the very man who had killed their friend? Kindhearted, nice, funny Ethan, dying in the hand of the man she called her father. It hurt.

And her own existence repulsed her. How could anyone like her even exist when people like Ethan died? She was so fearful, she was such a coward, she didn't dare telling anyone about what her father had done when she knew she should.

She should have known. She should have told. She should have stopped him. She should have… done _something_. But she did nothing. Her own passivity disgusted her.

That was another reason why she pushed her friends away. She wouldn't want to taint them with her touch.

That evening, her father had pulled her to take a walk somewhere. She didn't think much of it and simply followed, not even looking at where they were walking, still wallowing in her own guilt. And too late, she realized she was pulled to Edward's house. The guilt swelled again, remembering how close Edward had gotten to Ethan, and it was her fault that he died.

People might have disagreed, but if she did nothing, wasn't she just as guilty as the person that had done the deed?

She was basically unaware of her surroundings. Seeing Edward's face had set her off again, and she blurted lines upon lines of apology, only realizing what had happened when she saw Edward's father sprawled unconscious on the ground. The apologies stopped, replaced with numb silence, because what had just happened? Did it happen because she didn't do anything again? Oh God, why?

And suddenly Edward lunged at her father, angry, but he didn't even blink before sidestepping Edward's coming fist before quickly giving a punch of his own at Edward's stomach. The boy coughed and hack, falling to the ground with a moan. Vic let the metallic pot in his hand that he had used to hit Roy at the head clang to the ground and rummaged into the deep pockets of his coat, pulling out a length of rope that he used to tie Edward with. The boy quickly lashed, but Vic was stronger, and Edward was still pained. Then, when he was sure that the knots were secure, he turned to tie Roy.

"Why?" Edward demanded, voice strained.

"You wouldn't understand."

"How would I if you won't even tell me?"

Vic glared and looked away. Vera watched quietly with awed trepidation. Was this how he usually did what he did? There was some sort of terrible efficiency in how he moved that made her feel both scared and amazed at the same time.

Perhaps making him talk was a good way to stall for time. She may not be able to do much, but Edward was the kind of person that thought quickly. He might be able to do something. She refused to bear guilt to another set of lost lives. With a tremble in her voice, she spoke, "I… want to know too."

She felt Edward's gaze on her, but she refused to look at him. Instead, she stared right at her father, staring into his eyes, pleading that he would answer, that he would tell her, that she would be able to stall. This was as much a genuine question as it was a way to gain time.

Vic stared, silent, contemplating. His fingers traced his lips. "Yes… I brought you so that you could understand, after all. I might as well tell you." He kneeled next to her, slinging his arms around her shoulders, and she suppressed a shudder at the thought of those hands being covered in blood. "Look at them, Vera," he said to her, pointing at Edward and Roy, who began to stir. "Look closely. Don't you think they look like what we used to be? A family of three, though the mother of this family is currently not here?"

"I… I guess I can see the similarity."

"Do you think they're happy?"

The question took Vera aback. "I… I don't know. Possibly."

Vic nodded. "Possibly. Yes, possibly. But Vera, Dear, have you ever thought… why are they so happy?"

"Um…?"

"Why can they have the luxury of being happy when we have to stay in mourning because one of our own died? Aren't you ever angry? Jealous of what they have?"

"So you kill them?" Vera asked, voice barely above whisper.

"The pain, Vera," Vic kept talking. "They don't understand, they wouldn't understand. They just won't. But if they're dead, wouldn't they get it?"

The skewed logic rendered Vera speechless. "Pa," she croaked weakly, "I don't think dead people really care about those things."

"Well, they should," something in Vic's eyes hardened. He straightened up and walked to the two bound people sprawled on the ground, taking a knife from another pocket of his.

Roy rolled and positioned himself firmly between Vic and Edward. "You aren't touching him," he hissed fiercely.

Vic stared at him coldly before his leg tore through the air and kicked Roy at the shoulder, watching with satisfaction as he crashed to the floor once more. "You don't have a say in this, Mr. Mason," he said, managing to sound sickeningly polite. "I will cut him up, and I want you to watch until the end."

"Like hell you're cutting me up," Edward glared angrily. He tugged at his restraints, but no matter what he did it wouldn't come loose.

"Pa, please stop," Vera asked in panic. Her hands shook with both fear and frantic desperation. "I don't want you to do this."

"But it's not fair!" Vic suddenly lashed, turning back to her, the pain in his eyes so evident it broke her heart. "Why do they get to be happy? Don't I deserve the same?"

"Pa," Vera whispered, tears gathering in her eyes. She was at a loss. She wanted to stop Vic, but she had never seen him in such a state. She had no idea what to do, how to defuse him. This wasn't the father she had grown up with, the one that showered her with love and guided her with patience and joy. This was a wounded man, broken by grief and sorrow.

Vic simply stared at her as though expecting her to come up with an answer to his question. When he realized that she didn't, the pain in his eyes doubled and he looked away. He gripped the knife in his hand with renewed determination and turned to Edward, pulling him to his feet by his cuff, completely ignoring the string of curses the boy immediately spouted. He lifted his hand. The knife glinted with the lamp's light.

"Stop!" Roy yelled desperately, trying to get to his feet only to be kicked and toppled again.

Almost at the same time, a feminine voice yelled, "Freeze!"

Vic did stop moving this time. Slowly, he turned around, still grabbing Edward, and his face twisted into a smile. "Why, hello," he greeted. "It's very nice of you to join the party, even late as it is, Mrs. Mason." He paused before adding, "And it's quite the surprise. Why didn't you say that you were bringing some firecracker in the house?" There was a slight mocking tone in his voice.

Vera turned to see Riza standing by the stairs. Her intense eyes burned into Vic's. There was a gun in her hands. She looked threatening with the weapon within her palms, and Vera couldn't help but gulp.

"I know how to use this," Riza hissed, almost angry. "Let him go. Now."

"Or you'll shoot?" Vic challenged instead. He simply turned and held Edward in front of him, like some sort of a human shield.

Riza faltered. From the floor, Roy began shaking his head and muttering _no_ softly over and over again, but then he stopped mid-word, something akin of realization dawning on him. Edward froze, surprise and fear in his eyes. The constant stream of curses stopped and his eyes darted back and forth as though trying to find a way out.

"Pa!" Vera squeaked, and Vic's eyes laid on her. She opened and closed her mouth desperately, trying to talk sense into him, but no word came out. She settled instead to shake her head at last, staring at him pleadingly.

But Vic shook his head. "You'll understand too, soon," he said. He gripped his knife tighter.

"Stop it!" Riza barked at once, finger cocking the gun.

"Then shoot!" Vic screamed at her. She froze. "Shoot, I say," Vic said again. "See if you really can stop me." He grabbed Edward more firmly.

Riza's eyes darted back and forth, settling on her gun once, then the knife, then Edward, Roy, and back at the gun. She finally settled with staring at Roy, who stared back at her readily, as though they were having a nonverbal communication. He nodded at her, and her eyes widened. She shook her head slightly, settling her gaze on Edward. The boy, himself, looked at Roy as though searching for guidance. The man glanced at him with something akin of conviction, and the fear in his eyes flared before subduing, changing into something more like terrified anticipation, preparing for something he knew he wouldn't be able to escape but scared him all the same.

"No," Riza whispered, both to Roy and to Edward.

But the boy nodded instead. "Do it."

"I can't. I'll hit you."

"That can't be avoided."

Riza sighed exasperatedly. "Ed…!"

"I believe in you, Mom."

She blinked, apparently taken aback, then her gaze hardened. She shifted her gaze again, this time looking at Vic straight in the eyes. "I'm going to ask you again," she spoke slowly, carefully. "Let go of him."

"We've gone through this before, lady," Vic rolled his eyes. "You won't risk hitting him. so let's just cut the crap and begin this."

Once more, the knife was raised. It cleaved the air with a swish, aiming for Edward's heart.

At the same time, a loud bang sounded, echoing off the walls. To Vera's eyes, it all happened almost as though in slow motion. Something pushed Edward back by the left shoulder, and his back thumped against Vic's chest as the knife in his hand fell. The force was enough to send them tumbling to the ground, Edward atop of Vic before he rolled over.

Riza rushed forward, gun clattering to the floor together with the knife as she tended to Edward.

The door was kicked open from the outside, and a group of men in uniform plus one in steel armor – _who the heck wears that kind of thing_ – rushed inside. Roy barked orders, and the group split into three. The one in armor and a blond man with a cigarette between his lips went to Edward, helping him and tending to his wound that Vera hadn't noticed before. A somewhat plump redhead and a tall grey haired man went to Vic, and the short, black haired young man went to Roy.

"The wound's fatal. We need medical aid!"

The redhead's announcement shook Vera. Was her father hurt? She scrambled from where she was standing and dropped to her knees by Vic's side, pushing aside the grey haired man. "Pa," she called, voice only above a whisper. She gasped when she saw that red had bloomed on Vic's chest, stealing away his breath and letting blood flow freely away. He coughed feebly and a trail of blood escaped his lips. She shook her head as tears welled up in her eyes.

"Vera," Vic wheezed. "Vera…"

"Move aside, kid," the redheaded man pushed her aside gently. "We need to bring him to the hospital. We can't risk him dying."

Vera grasped Vic's hand, and he grasped back even though he did it weakly – too weakly – as he was taken away from her. She stared numbly, still wondering what had happened. Too much had happened. She couldn't take all of it in, not in such a short span of time.

"Vera," someone patted her on the shoulder, and she jumped as she turned. Her gaze met Roy's, who stared at her closely with a look she couldn't read.

"I – " the words died in her throat. She gulped and took a deep breath, suddenly feeling small and exposed under Roy's intense stare. Her mind raced with so many questions to the point that she wasn't sure if she really wanted to ask anything at all. She settled with staring back at him, though a part of her wondered how she looked right then.

Instead of accusing her like she had feared he would, Roy offered his hand to her. "Let's go," he said to her dumbfounded face. "We should go to the hospital, too. You'd like to see your father, right?"

Vera's throat clogged up immediately. "Ye – " she stopped talking when she realized her voice cracked. She sucked in a breath and nodded instead as she felt a sob bubbling up. She took Roy's hand and stood, rubbing her eyes with her sleeves as her tears began to fall at last. Roy led her away from the house and she followed him blindly, too preoccupied with trying to stifle her sobs to care.

Roy rubbed circles and told her it would be fine all the way to the hospital, occasionally telling her that her father would be fine, that Edward's wound wasn't grievous, that she would meet her father soon. None of them felt good in her ears.

* * *

A/N: My greatest problem with this chapter was to decide whether I wanted to write everything fully within Riza's perspective or try to show the reason why Vic got _eeeviiil_. So I went with both. Vera's perspective is both fun and dreary to work with. I like getting in her head, but holy shit. I didn't realize it would be such a dark place. I feel even worse for my baby.

Some people have asked if I named Vic after Vic Mignogna, and the answer is... no. I just wanted to give him a V-sounding name to match Vera, and Vic is honestly the first thing to pop up, and I didn't even remember that Vic Mignogna was the one to voice Edward until I read the question. Oops.  
On a side note, Vera's mom is named Keira. Like Keira Knightley. I love how she acted in Pirates of Caribbean movies and somehow I can't help but think of her when I pictured how Vera's mom would be.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed that. Please leave a review and tell me what you think. Hope you have a great day!


	34. Aftermath

Thirty Four: Aftermath

If you ask Edward about how many times he had been in a hospital, his answer would be "I have no idea". He had lost count of how many times he had to stay in a hospital for wounds he received in his missions.

He had hoped that he could avoid that in this mission. After all, it sounded simple enough – get in character, lure killer, catch killer, take off and never look back because Fullmetal Alchemist in school would make a really good comedy novel and he didn't want that. But alas, fate had different plans for him and he still had to see those pristine white walls he had come to dislike. The good news was that he _thankfully_ didn't have to stay the night there. The bad news was that he wouldn't be able to use his left arm fully because it _hurt_ and the doctor told him to let it heal. Normally he'd ignore it, but this time he was inclined to agree.

The bullet Riza fired pierced him, right around his collarbone. It was miraculous that it ended up not being life threatening. The same couldn't be said about Vic, however, who was immediately put into surgery.

He didn't make it.

At the moment, he was sitting next to Vera at the park near the hospital Vic was operated in. As soon as she heard the news, the girl had staggered out without words and left the hospital premises. Edward, Roy, and Riza all followed her, but the adults then left Edward to cheer the girl up. Which was stupid because he sucked at the whole talking to people thing.

The silence draped over them as Edward stared at the girl, not knowing what to do. She was staring off to nothing in particular, eyes glazed and mouth parted slightly. Several times Edward opened his mouth to say something, but decided against it and closed his mouth back.

A sudden broken chuckle from Vera caught his attention. He stared at her in confusion, seeing nothing in the situation that could be deemed even remotely funny. "Vera?" he called softly.

"Fourteen years," she breathed between the chuckle that sounded more and more like a sob. "Fourteen years, and orphaned. I've only seen this kind of premise in my novels."

"Vera?"

The girl sniffed and looked up. Tears ran freely down her cheeks. "I never thought I'd encounter that kind of situation in real life, let alone living it."

Edward simply waited for the girl to stop crying. He sat there awkwardly, watching her sniff and sob while occasionally patting her shoulder with his automail arm. It was weird for him. He never had to comfort a crying girl before and he honestly didn't know how to. He wanted to help, but he didn't want to make things worse instead. He wanted to help, he really did. He knew how it felt like to lose a family member. The fact that said family member happened to have wanted to turn him into lamb chop just made it a bit hard to be sympathetic.

Thankfully, it didn't take long for Vera to calm down, though she still hiccupped every now and then. "I'm sorry," she said suddenly as she wiped away the last of her tears as she sniffed.

Edward shook his head in confusion. "What for?"

"For what Pa did."

"It wasn't your doing."

" _A father's sin is his child's to bear_ ," Vera spoke softly, and the detached way she said the words made Edward sure that it was something she quoted from her books.

"I don't believe in that," Edward argued. "He did it, not you. It's not your fault, so it's not your responsibility to apologize."

Vera was silent for a moment. "But he's not here to do that," she said. "I'm the only one who can do it for him, so I apologize for his behalf."

Edward stared at her. "Thank you," he said at last.

There was another moment of silence that was only broken by Vera's occasional sniffs. She soon broke it, though, asking, "What will happen to me next?"

Edward shrugged. "Foster care… most likely."

Vera stared at him for a moment and looked away.

Edward stared back suspiciously. "You're thinking about something," he observed. When it was apparent that Vera was reluctant to tell him, he urged, "Come on. Just tell me."

Vera sniffed. "It's just that… I feel that you're not very good at comforting other people."

Edward snorted. "Thanks, I noticed."

"And… your mom is probably not really a baker…" when Edward stared at her, Vera shrugged uncomfortably. "People don't normally use guns, so I just assumed… um… military?"

Edward nodded. "You assumed correctly."

"Okay," Vera muttered softly as she nodded and looked down. She closed her eyes as newfound onslaught of sobs surfaced.

Again, Edward simply waited for her to finish.

* * *

Edward walked down the corridors of his school with Roy and Riza in tow. They had just left the headmaster's office, announcing that Edward was to move to another school because the recent events had them thinking that maybe this town wasn't their town after all and they should relocate to somewhere more peaceful.

"Shouldn't you say goodbye to your friends?" Riza asked Edward when she realized they were heading to the school gate. She walked ahead of him, looking at him, taking the lead.

"I'm not good with goodbyes," Edward muttered. He let Riza lead the way, following her almost blindly.

"You're not good with people in general, Ed, but you managed to make friends here anyway," Roy pointed out. "Don't ruin the relationships you've built."

"But what should I say?" Edward asked. "I'll just ruin everything anyway."

"So you gave up trying? Is this really the attitude the Fullmetal Alchemist should have?"

"What's that got to do with anything?" Edward snapped, voice growing louder immediately. "It doesn't matter that I'm the Fullmetal Alchemist, I still suck at social interactions!"

"You're the _who_?!"

Edward started. He looked around to see the faces of his classmates staring at him in shock and disbelief. Riza had lead him here. He groaned loudly as he glared at her, but she simply shrugged with the barest hint of smile in her face. Roy, though, was grinning madly right next to her.

"Ed, stop joking!" Cara scolded. "You're a nerd, there's no way you're the Fullmetal Alchemist."

"You… might want to rethink that statement," Matt announced. He pointed at Edward's automail hand that peeked from his coat, since he didn't wear his gloves because pulling on gloves with only one fully functional hand was too difficult. "He's got two metal limbs, people."

Words buzzed immediately, and Edward glared at Matt. "You've already known," he accused.

"I've had my suspicions," Matt admitted, "but I can only confirm it now."

The rest of his classmates, however, weren't in the same state of calm and victory that Matt was in. It was easier to say that they were in total panic.

"Oh my god I let him know about how I like him," Cara muttered with a red face.

"But you still consider him your idol, don't you?" Sherry asked her.

"Of course I do." Cara whipped her face to Edward's. "Ed, sign my face. Please. I probably will never wash my face again but it's worth it."

"I am so, so sorry I stepped on your foot purposefully during the dance," Sherry apologized.

"I wonder if my parents will believe me if I told them I was classmates with the Fullmetal Alchemist," Stanley wondered aloud. He was surprisingly calm compared to the rest of the class.

Noah and Liam, however, were freaking out. "We were in a real big trouble with him back then," Noah practically shrieked to Liam. "We tried to pin a crime on him."

"Well at least you were the one to apologize first!" Liam shrieked back, more shrilly. "I pretty much mocked him for his disabilities!"

"That's probably because you didn't think things through, Liam," Matt commented casually.

"You're one to speak! You almost fought him in the cafeteria that one time!"

"D-don't bring up the past when we've already made up!"

And suddenly, Edward was swamped with questions, just like the first day he joined the class. This time, however, he could predict what would happen, so he decided to flee the scene. "Guys, guys!" he yelled above the commotion, and it thankfully died down pretty quickly. "I'd love to stay and answer but I seriously need to go now."

"Wait!" Cara yelled. "If you're the Fullmetal Alchemist… does this mean that you won't come back?"

Edward scratched his head. "Well… I won't. All my business here is done. I gotta go back to my own work."

"Oh," Sherry muttered. "That's… a shame." She blinked and looked at him straight in the eyes. "But we can still call you, or send you letters!"

"Calling sounds great!" Cara beamed. "What's your phone number?"

"I, um, don't have a phone," Edward admitted.

"But he will soon," Roy cut in all of a sudden, walking closer to them and whipping out a notebook and a pen. "So, kindly write down your number, please. Edward will call you sooner or later."

"Are you saying that you're buying me a phone?" Edward asked Roy weirdly as he eyed his classmates enthusiastically jotting down their phone numbers.

"Yes, since you're really hard to get ahold of sometimes," Roy told the boy.

"Hey, I'm not – " Edward began to protest, but he stopped halfway. "Yeah, fine, I admit that I get too invested in the books I read sometimes, but it's not really that hard to look for me when you really want to…"

"Yeah, tell that to the people I've asked to track you down."

"Done!" Sherry yelled as she gave the notebook and pen back to Roy. "Most if not all the kids in class have put their numbers in."

"Thank you, Sherry," Roy smiled to the girl. "Edward will call soon, I assure you."

"By the way, are you part of the military too?" Sherry asked. Her eyes gleamed with insatiable curiosity.

"Me and Riza both," Roy nodded.

"If I may ask, Sir…" Cara leaned forward, eyes grim. "What will happen to Vera?"

Roy froze. "Ah, about that… I'm sure your teacher will tell you about that soon."

Cara turned to Edward instead. "Ed?"

"It's really not my place to say," he responded.

"Roy," Riza called softly, "we need to go."

"Alright then…" Edward muttered awkwardly, "I guess this is goodbye."

Matt stared at him before punching him lightly in the arm. "What are you, some crappy novel's protagonist? Who even actually say that?"

"Yeah, that was seriously lame," Stanley agreed. "Just promise us to call, okay?"

Edward grinned. "Okay."

"We'll be holding to your word," Cara pointed at his nose.

"Yeah, or else we're going to spill about the time you were here to the press," Sherry threatened playfully with a large grin across her face.

Edward shook his head as he retreated. "Bye, guys. I _will_ call, seriously."

"You'd better!"

* * *

"Another mission?!"

"Not so loud, Edward," Roy rubbed his ear as he hissed as the golden boy. "Use your indoor voice! But yes, this is a new mission."

"Is it another undercover mission with you and Riza?" Edward asked curiously. His hand reached down to stroke Tiny's fur. Somehow, she had become the office cat, as Roy agreed to take care of her but refused to bring her home. Thankfully, she and Black Hayate got along well.

"No," Roy frowned. "Are you actually looking forward for another one of that?"

"Are you kidding me? I get to eat delicious food for free!" Edward yelled, eyes wide, as though Roy had just suggested something scandalous to him. "Of course I'm looking forward for it."

"Sometimes I wonder if you think with your brain or with your stomach," Roy sighed, shaking his head a little. "Anyway, that's your mission. You're to leave tomorrow morning."

Edward simply hummed, more to give some sort of response to actually answer. Then he cried out. "Mebdo? That's a backwater place!"

"And why does that matter?"

"Because me and Al had just gotten an idea that may turn out to be a lead!" Edward announced, the hope in his voice clear. "We can't research it there!"

"You're supposed to do your mission there, not do research," Roy huffed loudly. "It's an easy task. Just do it and come back soon, _then_ you can research all you want."

"But we need to do it now!" Edward stared pitifully at Roy. "Give us more time here. Just one week is enough."

"No, you will go tomorrow and that is final."

Edward stared at Roy still.

"No, I will not fall for that trick," Roy growled. "Stop puppy-staring me, Fullmetal. I'm not going to postpone your mission."

The desperation in Edward's eyes doubled. "But – "

"Fullmetal, I'm warning you. Don't even say it – "

" _But Dad!_ "

Strings of curses escaped Roy's mouth, so loudly that Riza glared at him from across the room. Edward knew instantly that he had won.

"Fine!" Roy shouted, clearly upset that his defeat was brought upon by a pipsqueak. "Four days, and you hop on a train and go for Mebdo. Take it or leave it."

Edward pumped his fists. "I owe you one, Roy."

"You owe me a lot. You just don't acknowledge it," Roy grumbled. Then he straightened up. "And you were asking about Vera, weren't you?"

"Yeah," Edward looked at him. "Did you get something?"

"She moved with her new foster family," Roy told the boy. "They got a place in Hughes' apartment building. He told me they were a good family. I'm sure she will be fine."

"That's good," Edward sighed, smiling. "Maybe I should visit her sometime." He stood up. "Well, I'll be going. Go check the library if you want to talk to me."

"Oh, Ed?" Riza called out. "Don't forget to eat lunch later, okay?"

"Okay."

"And please take better care of yourself."

"What? I always take care of myself." At Riza's glare, Edward rolled his eyes. "Yes, Mom, I'll take better care of myself." With a wave, he exited the room and headed straight to the corridor, oblivious to the stares of disbelief the rest of Mustang's Unit was throwing at him.

"Did he just call the colonel 'dad'? And the first lieutenant 'mom'?"

"I never thought I'd ever hear the chief call them like that."

"And did you hear him whining to the boss earlier?"

"Do you think he can do that again? This time to give us some more holidays?"

"Men!" from inside the room, Roy bellowed, and the four members of his unit jumped immediately. "Get back to work."

* * *

A/N: so sorry for the really late update! School's being a dick, with all the mock exams and practical exams and tests and whatnot. I just had my PE practical exam today, actually. My legs still feel like they're about to burst, ow.

I think this is a little of a lame ending, actually. I'm never really good at endings, so I'm not really surprised, but I'd like to apologize if it feels weird. I don't think it's going to get better, if I rewrite it again, though. But I think I've got all the stuff that I want to put in this story, so that's good.

Thank you so much for reading, reviewing, and basically sticking with this story to the end. Honestly, some chapters feel like crap after I reread them again that I wonder just why I thought they were good enough to publish, but you guys gave me the encouragement I needed to go through with this. If you didn't, this story would have been abandoned, probably. So thank you again.

A bit of self-promo-slash-announcement here: I've had plans for my next fic. It's kind of like an expansion of my one-shot fic _Artificial Human_ that somehow ended up being somewhat of an AU to that, even though _Artificial Human_ was already an AU to FMA. The story is basically one where the FMA world's technology was advanced enough to have Androids around. The focus will be on Roy and Riza, and Riza will be an Android in this story. I haven't gotten a good title for it yet, but at least I've had the AU figured out and decided on a starting point. Hopefully I can upload it soon.

Again, thank you so much for your continued support. I hope I can see you again through another story. Bye, and have a great day!


End file.
